The former India head coach backed this young IPL 2023 performer to wear the Indian jersey soon at the international stage.
Ravi Shastri has been following the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) closely upon his return to broadcasting duties. The former India head coach is mighty impressed with the number of young talents that the premier T20 league continues to throw up, signalling a bright future for the country at the international stage.
Among the spree of young uncapped players to have grabbed the eyes of the ex India allrounder and veteran commentator is Rajasthan Royals (RR) young opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal. The 21-year-old Mumbai left-hander has been in exceptional form with the bat for the Royals in IPL 2023.
The earnest cricketer seems to have elevated his game to another pedestal after showing encouraging signs to this front in the past two seasons with Royals. After displaying greater explosiveness but with a compromise on his consistency last two summers, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been able to bridge that gap quite incredibly for the inaugural season champions.
Jaiswal has blasted a whopping 575 runs in his 12 innings of the competition, including a superlative maiden IPL century and four fifty-plus scores next to his name. The batter has retained an eye-catching strike-rate of 167.15 while clocking an impressive average of 52.27.
Speaking for host broadcasters ‘Star Sports’, Shastri said Yashasvi Jaiswal is not just knocking on the door but breaking it open for himself right now. The ex coach said the senior Indian team could soon have a spot in there for Jaiswal, especially as the set-up goes through a transition phase across formats.
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Notably, Shastri had backed Jaiswal to find a spot in a fresh-looking T20I side in a year where the focus would largely be reserved towards the 50-overs World Cup in October-November and experienced heads could be rested all summer from the shortest format.
“The selectors must be closely monitoring Jaiswal and he will soon play for India. The best thing about him is the way he’s raised his graph. There is power in his game, there’s timing. He has very bright future prospects,” Shastri said.
Jaiswal, who entered the IPL 2023 after a spree of hundreds in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai – India’s premier domestic first-class competition, is considered to be an all-format prodigy by prominent voices in the set-up. But his immediate calling could arrive as a backup opener in the limited-overs game.
