Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan has strongly advocated for Yashasvi Jaiswal to receive consistent opportunities in India's ODI XI ahead of the upcoming three-match home series against the West Indies, starting September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram.
Pathan explicitly stated that Jaiswal is firmly positioned as India's third opening option behind captain Shubman Gill and veteran Rohit Sharma. The southpaw has slammed two centuries in six ODI appearances so far, averaging over 70 in the 50-over format.
He emphasized the importance of keeping Jaiswal match-ready and well-exposed to the format, warning that a crucial backup player must not reach the World Cup in South Africa next year lacking sufficient game time.
"There is one player who I will keep an eye on in this series. He is Yashasvi Jaiswal, (Eager to see) how many opportunities he gets, especially in this one-day series in front of the West Indies," Pathan said in a Star Sports video on X.
"See, one thing is sure: Jaiswal is your backup opener. He is your third opener right now. By the time you reach South Africa (for the ODI World Cup), it shouldn't be that the backup opener you have has not got ample opportunities. So for me to see him regularly playing whenever the opportunity arrives, he should be there," he added.
With the Asian Games in Japan running from September 24 to October 3, overlapping directly with all three West Indies ODIs, the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah were unavailable for selection. This forced the selectors to consider alternatives.
The scheduling conflict paved the way for Punjab all-rounder Naman Dhir and Jammu & Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi to earn their maiden ODI call-ups.
In Iyer’s absence, KL Rahul has been named the vice-captain. This vacancy also opened up a selection door for Ruturaj Gaikwad in the middle-order. Kishan’s unavailability created the window for Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion as a backup wicketkeeper-batter behind Rahul.
To balance out remaining gaps -- particularly with senior all-rounder Hardik Pandya still recovering from injuries -- the team management also pulled seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy out of the Asian Games contingent to reinforce the ODI squad.
While navigating split squads is not an ideal scenario, Pathan views this as an opportunity for the fringe players to step up.
“Shreyas and Axar and Washi (Washington Sundar), they are playing the Asian Games, so they are not there. It's a huge opportunity for the rest of the players. It's like a second team where a lot of players are being tried. Nitish Kumar Reddy will get an opportunity; Jurel will get an opportunity. Along with that, Auqib Nabi will get an opportunity, and Gurnoor Brar will get an opportunity to take his career forward in international cricket,” he remarked.
Irfan Pathan believes the Indian team management can afford to test the bench strength in a home series.
"You can afford it in front of West Indies, which I think is the right direction as well. And you will get to know a lot of things. Because before the World Cup, which is going to take place next year, you are going to get 11 matches. And in that, you want to see this bench strength as well.
"And this is an opportunity because, simultaneously, if the Asian Games and the West Indies series have come, then it's a blessing in disguise where a lot of young boys will definitely get a chance. One more guy I'd love to definitely talk about is Naman Dhir. I really admire him. I think he's got a great talent. But more than for his performance in domestic cricket, he has been selected for his bowling skills. He is an off-spinner, and India are missing that a little bit. Because Washi isn't available either due to the Asian Games. Riyan Parag has concerns about an injury," he concluded.
(With IANS Inputs)
