There are only a little over two months until India hosts the highly anticipated 2023 ODI World Cup. The ten competing teams have already begun settling on their tournament rosters. The roster for the host nation, India, includes the captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja. Fans eagerly anticipate the conclusion of the ICC’s protracted trophy drought, but they still have a lot of planning to do to find the right combination.
The starting combination is one of the selectors’ and the Indian team management’s most recent headaches. While most believed that the duo of Rohit and Gill were ideal for the World Cup after the latter secured his spot at the beginning of this year with a string of centuries, veterans and commentators have been vehement about wanting young Yashasvi Jaiswal in the World Cup squad.
Jaiswal entered the picture following a memorable IPL 2023 season in which he received his first call-up for the West Indies tour. He received his debut cap for the first Test right away, where he set a record with 171 runs in India’s innings triumph.
In talking about the young player, who broke his 27-year-old Asia record for most runs scored in a first-ever Test away from home and joined him on the list of India’s centurions, Sourav Ganguly was all praise for the player and told Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid that Jaiswal is a “must” for the World Cup.
Jaiswal’s left-handed batting skills, which will give variation to India’s top-order line-up, were also considered by Ganguly in addition to his record and incredible run.
“Scoring a hundred on debut is always massive. I too have done it, so I know how special it is. Even technique-wise, he seems really good. A left-handed batsman’s presence in the team always helps. So, having him in the World Cup squad is a must,” Ganguly emphasised.
Jaiswal was added to the Asian Games squad, which essentially consists of players who aren’t in contention for the World Cup because the Asiad’s schedule conflicts with that of the 50-over competition, in contrast to what the majority of veterans and analysts had hoped.
