Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has said that as soon as Rohit Sharma retires, Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the next in line to take up the opener’s spot in the Indian team, adding that although Ruturaj Gaikwad may pose some competition, Jaiswal will still be the frontrunner.
As per Sehwag, Jaiswal can excel across all three formats, but the current Indian team combination offers little space for him at the moment.
Jaiswal has featured in just four ODIs till now but has already made a strong impression. His standout performance came in his most recent appearance against South Africa in Vizag last year, where he remained unbeaten on 116 off 121 deliveries to bring up his maiden ODI century.
“But there is no space right now. Shubman Gill is the captain.
Rohit Sharma is playing. As soon as Rohit Sharma retires, you will see Jaiswal playing white-ball and one-day cricket as well,” Sehwag said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
“Ruturaj Gaikwad might be a competitor of his, though. But if you take three openers, you will definitely see Jaiswal among them,” Sehwag added.
The former opener noted that Jaiswal’s chances in ODIs have come in the absence of senior cricketers, rather than through a settled opening spot in the team.
“See, he has come into the ODI team only because someone like Gill or Rohit was not available. It was not like that he got the chance and then he didn’t perform,” Sehwag said.
“He performed very well when he got the chance. It was not like he was dropped after not performing. He was in the team because someone wasn’t playing,” Sehwag added.
Jaiswal was picked in India’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan after Virat Kohli was ruled out with an injury. But he wasn’t picked for the first ODI.
