"He is ready to play for India"- Suresh Raina's high praise for RR star Yashasvi Jaiswal
Former India international Suresh Raina has been highly impressed with the way Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has performed so far in the IPL 2023 season.
In 11 innings, Jaiswal has scored 477 runs at an incredible strike rate of 160.60 and also has a hundred. Raina added that Jaiswal has the ability to be the 'next Shikhar Dhawan' in the Indian team, as he's also a prolific explosive left-hander.
In a media interaction arranged by Jio Cinema, Suresh Raina, who's also an IPL expert, lauded Yashasvi Jaiswal for always thriving under pressure:
"Yashasvi has put up a yashasvi (successful) performance in the IPL so far. He has scored heaps of runs in domestic cricket as well, and I feel he is ready to play for India.
"With the World Cups coming up, if India is finding a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan, Jaiswal has that ability, intent, self-belief and willingness to perform under pressure. That impressed me the most."
Suresh Raina also hailed Jitesh Sharma for yet another season of consistent performances as a finisher for Punjab Kings:
"Jitesh Sharma, the way he has played cameos consistently, he has a bright future ahead. His wicketkeeping skills have also been brilliant, and he will only get better with experience."
Suresh Raina on the left-handers he has been impressed with
A plethora of left-handers have done well in the IPL 2023 season, but two have stood out for Suresh Raina. He reckons Rinku Singh (KKR) and Tilak Varma (MI) have been simply sensational for the way they have batted in crunch situations in the middle order.
Raina said:
"Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh impressed me the most because they played in the middle order. It is not easy to come and assess the game situation and adapt accordingly, but this is what I loved about them. Hopefully both of them can play for India very soon."
It will be interesting to see who wins the Emerging Player of the Tournament, with the likes of Jaiswal and Varma in the running.