At the age of 17 years and 292 days, Yashasvi Jaiswal became the youngest double-centurion in List-A cricket. There could be a YouTube video of him nurdling one behind square on the on-side, while playing against Jharkhand, to reach the milestone. As soon as he reached the 200-run mark, Jaiswal jumped in the air, took off his helmet and celebrated the landmark with his arms aloft.
Over the years, it has turned into a quintessential Jaiswal celebration. But there was more to that innings than just him savouring the memorable moment. In an innings where his senior teammates – Siddhesh Lad and Aditya Tare – couldn’t convert starts into scores of substance, Jaiswal showed the required temperament to accumulate a double.
Jaiswal has continued to shine brightly in the higher echelons of cricket. Be it aggregating a hundred in the IPL, at the age of 21 years and 123 days, accruing five hundreds in a single first-class season, or notching up four Test centuries at just 23, the hallmark of Jaiswal’s batting has been his voracious appetite for runs. In this context, it is astonishing to observe that Jaiswal is yet to make his ODI debut. Alongside having that sheer hunger for tall scores, Jaiswal is also a left-hand batter. In a top six largely comprising right-hand batters, Jaiswal could help to bring that little bit of variety.
So, the question that flashes in the mind is whether the selectors would pick Jaiswal in the squad for the forthcoming Champions Trophy. The answer could be influenced by the fact that India have the prolific Shubman Gill, batting alongside Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. Gill already has a double-hundred in ODIs, and averages a whopping 58.20. Granted that he has had his issues in the longest format, but the 50-over version perhaps suits his game the most.
Unlike the T20 format, Gill can take a bit of time to get his eye in, and then change gears according to different situations in the game. The white Kookaburra ball doesn’t move a great deal upfront, and the wickets are generally batting-friendly as well. Although Gill wasn’t at his very best in the 2023 50-over World Cup, he still aggregated 354 runs in that tournament. In last year’s 50-over series in Sri Lanka, Gill did underperform, compiling only 57 runs at an average of 19. However, it would be unfair to leave him out on the basis of one below-par series.
Logic says Gill deserves to book a place in the Champions Trophy squad. But there could still be a small window for Jaiswal to make an entry into the ODI set-up, especially given the pressing need for a left-hand batter in the top order.