"IPL ke bharosa Test me" - Fans react as Rohit Sharma confirms Yashasvi Jaiswal will make his debut in IND vs WI 1st Test
India captain Rohit Sharma has reportedly confirmed that Yashasvi Jaiswal will make his debut in the 1st Test against West Indies at Windsor Park in Dominica, starting Wednesday, July 12.
The skipper added that Shubman Gill will drop down to the No. 3 spot after Cheteshwar Pujara got dropped from the Test squad following the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. Thus, Rohit and Virat Kohli can play at their natural spots as an opener and at No. 4, respectively.
The 36-year-old further added that two spinners will be in the playing XI despite playing in pace-friendly conditions. Team India have three spin options in the form of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel.
Fans on Twitter came up with mixed reactions to the Indian think tank’s decision as they begin a new championship (2023-25) cycle. One tweeted:
"IPL ke bharosa Test me (Reliant on IPL talents in Test)."
Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:
For the uninitiated, Yashasvi Jaiswal has, so far, amassed 1,845 runs in 15 first-class matches, including nine centuries and two half-centuries. The 21-year-old amassed 357 runs in a solitary game for Rest of India (ROI) against Madhya Pradesh, including 213 in the Irani Cup 2023.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was first picked as a backup batter by Team India for the WTC final. That came after the Gaikwad was busy for personal reasons (wedding). The left-handed batter amassed 625 runs in 14 games in IPL 2023 at a strike rate of 163.61, including a century and five fifties.
Ajinkya Rahane lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of Test series against WI
Team India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has lauded his Mumbai teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the Test series against West Indies.
Rahane, who leads Mumbai in domestic cricket, told the reporters during the pre-match press conference:
"I am so happy for Jaiswal, he has worked so hard, scored runs for Mumbai in domestic cricket and the IPL. He is an exciting talent and the way he is batting is nice. My message to him is that he expresses himself while batting, plays with freedom and does not think much about the fact that he is playing international cricket.”
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.