The former India cricketer made a huge remark on this young IPL performer, who continues to shine domestically and is rated as one of the most promising talents in the country.
Following the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) closely, Suresh Raina seems to have identified India’s youngest World Cup probable. The former India and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-hander reckons his pick could serve the Indian team well as they build towards the forthcoming iteration of the quadrennial event at home in October-November.
Raina believes Rajasthan Royals (RR) young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal could bolster India’s quest to regain the biggest ICC title after 12 years. The veteran cricketer is highly impressed with his showings in IPL 2023 for the Royals and sees in him an influential cog in the wheels of Rohit Sharma & company.
After dominating his way through the first-class season for Mumbai, the 21-year-old has reigned supreme in this year’s IPL for the inaugural champions. In an incredible run, he now has a tally of 575 runs from 12 innings at a terrific average of 52.27 while retaining an exceptional strike rate of 167.12.
Having taken his game to another level, Yashasvi Jaiswal blasted an unbeaten 98 in the Royals’ impressive comeback win over the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday (May 11) night, hitting 13 fours and 5 sixes in his 47-ball stay. It was after this knock that Raina stood absolutely convinced now is the right time to introduce Jaiswal into the senior Indian set-up.
Speaking as an expert for the ‘JioCinema’ app, Suresh Raina also said watching Jaiswal in such blistering form evokes feelings of watching one of the game’s greatest batting destroyers, Virender Sehwag, in his pomp.
The Indian middle-order giant backed the Mumbaikar to be someone skipper Rohit, coach Rahul Dravid and the selectors can be keen on for the 2023 World Cup, especially as the slot for the back-up opener remains slightly uncertained.
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“If I was the Indian selector, I would have signed him today itself for the World Cup because he is in a very fresh mind. He reminds me of Virender Sehwag. I’m sure Rohit Sharma will be watching this because he will be searching for batters like him for the World Cup,” Raina said on ‘JioCinema’.
Since dropping the experienced Shikhar Dhawan, the Indian One-Day team has found another excellent opening stand at the top in Rohit’s impactful duet with the rising prodigy Shubman Gill.
However, the slot for their potential backup is not so confirmed as Ishan Kishan continues to falter at the top level since making his spectacular double century versus Bangladesh in December last season. If Kishan fails in the coming international assignments, Jaiswal could well walk in.
