Yashasvi Jaiswal is at a crossroads, struggling to find his place in the white-ball squads despite having the quality and temperament to excel in both. In T20Is, he has dropped down the pecking order as Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have solidified their spots, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the backup opener.
In ODIs, he is the third opening option behind Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, and the frustration seems to be creeping into his mindset. At times, it might make you do things which you really don’t need to do.
The news that Jaiswal has started working on his wicketkeeping was treated by skepticism by most. Mumbai Ranji skipper Siddhesh Lad has said he wants to keep wickets and aspires to do so for India and Mumbai in the future. This despite not having kept even in age-group cricket. If anything, he earned a reputation as an all-rounder who bowled leg-spin. His most famous school-level achievement came in 2015 during a Giles Shield match, where he set an all-round schools record by scoring 319 not out and taking 13 wickets with his bowling
The 24-year-old has shown he belongs on the big stage in Tests as well as in ODIs. Two centuries in six ODIs is a dream start for any batter. But with Rohit still performing well, it is tough for Jaiswal to make a breakthrough.
If you are wondering, why wicket-keeping, then perhaps Jaiswal might have been inspired by Rahul Dravid who came in as a specialist batsman and then took on the gloves when his skipper Sourav Ganguly urged him to.
That transition wasn’t particularly difficult for him, as he had done some keeping as a youngster. It did require work though. The first time he actually kept wickets was in April 1999 against England when Nayan Mongia got injured. The move worked in India’s favour.
If Dravid played as the keeper, then India could have seven batsmen in every match, which was a tactic they had been contemplating quite seriously in the absence of an all-rounder.
Dravid, as coach, subsequently helped KL Rahul transition into a part-time wicketkeeper in all formats. He is now a regular wicketkeeper in ODIs, and in Tests, he is a specialist opener, though he has also kept in Tests in the absence of both Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan. Dravid and the team management handed Rahul the gloves for the two-Test series in South Africa. He now wears the gloves for his IPL side and the India ODI team. Like Dravid, Rahul too had kept in age-group cricket.
In both instances, it was the team management’s demand and requirement that saw the two batters move into the wicketkeeping role, which, of course, wasn’t the case with Jaiswal. The desire to get into a white-ball squad might be the reason why he’s now moving into wicketkeeping at 25.
Former BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad, who was a wicketkeeper during his playing days, feels Jaiswal does not need to take up wicketkeeping to fast-track his chances of breaking into the playing XI. Prasad pointed to past examples of Dravid and Rahul, who had kept wicket in age-group cricket, to explain why Jaiswal’s situation is different.
“Yashasvi Jaiswal doesn’t need to get into wicket-keeping or other stuff. I mean, see, people earlier who got into wicket-keeping, like Rahul Dravid or KL Rahul, were all wicket-keepers till the Under-19 level,” Prasad told Hindustan Times. “Though in later stages they stopped doing wicket-keeping, that natural instinct still stayed with them.”
Prasad pointed out that even the specialist wicketkeepers, Ishan Kishan, aren’t finding a place in the XI, while Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson aren’t even in the scheme of things for ODIs.
“Today we have Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant. They are also not finding a place. Someone like Sanju Samson is not finding a place because of the competition that we have right now for every slot.”
“If you are thinking about wicket-keeping, then Ishan Kishan is also a wicket-keeper and an opening batsman. I don’t know whether that is the right way of thinking,” he added.
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However, the former chief selector asserted that he still has a chance to make it to South Africa next year: “Yashasvi should definitely be in the scheme of things for the World Cup as well.”
With selectors seeking top-order batters who can bowl, Prasad believes Jaiswal developing this skill could improve his chances of making the playing XI.
“We don’t have any top-order batsmen who can bowl. We have ready-made wicket-keepers, three of them, but not batsmen who can bowl. So, it’s better, you know, I’m sure the Indian selectors must be looking at batsmen who can bowl,” he added.
“Frustrating for Jaiswal”: Deep Dasgupta
Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta also holds the view that the opening batter should work on his bowling if he wants to develop a second skill.
“I’m not too sure. I mean, I’ve seen him bowl leg-spin, and if he wants to develop a second skill alongside his batting and thinks he needs something more to impress the selectors or improve his chances of getting selected, maybe. I thought he bowled decent leg-spin,” Deep told Hindustan Times.
The former cricketer-turned-broadcaster is more concerned with what prompted Jaiswal to take up wicket-keeping than the move itself.
“Wicket-keeping just came out of nowhere, to be fair. Somebody needs to speak to him, whether it’s his coaches or the people around him, and understand what exactly he is thinking. I don’t think wicket-keeping will help his cause. I’m more concerned about why he wants to do it and why he feels he needs to do it. That’s more important because he’s young and extremely talented. He’s proven himself across formats, and I think he’s got two hundreds in his last three ODI games,” he said.
The 49-year-old questioned the rationale behind Jaiswal’s decision to take up wicketkeeping, saying the focus should be on understanding what prompted the move rather than debating his prospects in the role.
“I’m sure it is frustrating for him. But the question is not about his keeping or his chances as a wicketkeeper. The question is why he is thinking that way and what has prompted him to do so. How serious is he? Those are the questions I would like answered. You can’t just wake up one morning and say, ‘I want to keep wickets for India.’ You can say that, but it doesn’t sound rational.”
Dasgupta stressed the need to give Jaiswal game time, as he is almost certain to be the back-up opener for next year’s World Cup.
“If he’s a back-up opener for the World Cup, which I think he is, or if he’s batting at number three, he needs game time. How you find that game time is for the selectors and the coach to figure out? Anyone in the scheme of things for the 2027 World Cup, with only 15-16 matches left to play, needs to be ready,” he added.
