Veteran India batter-keeper Dinesh Karthik is against the popular opinion of blooding young Yashasvi Jaiswal into the Indian ODI setup keeping in mind the upcoming World Cup later this year. During the ICC Men's U19 World Cup 2020, Jaiswal topped the run charts with 400 runs in six matches, including one century and four fifties.
He was picked by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2020 auction and his first three editions, made 547 runs in 23 matches with 3 fifties to his name.
But in IPL 2023, he unleashed himself, playing his first full season, and scoring 625 runs in 14 matches with one century- 124 and 5 fifties to his name. This included the fastest-ever half-century in IPL history off 13 balls.
This has led to a call for him to be fast-tracked into India's 50-over World Cup squad, but Dinesh Karthik thinks otherwise. He feels that the young Mumbai batter must focus on T20Is and the T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies and USA.
"I do not think Yashasvi needs to be fast-tracked into the ODI setup. He is a young boy. He needs to be fast-tracked into the T20I setup. I think he needs to be one of the frontrunners for the T20 World Cup happening next year as there are only a limited number of ODIs left to be played before this World Cup,” Dinesh Karthik told The ICC Review.
Karthik further emphasized that India already possesses talented openers in Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. He believes that opportunities should continue to be provided to Gill and Ishan Kishan, allowing Jaiswal to further develop his skills.
"India do not lack an opener, they have done well with Rohit and Shubman being there. So I feel that post the World Cup, I think in ODIs and T20Is, he (Jaiswal) is going to be a consistent player without a doubt. You do not need to fast-track him to this World Cup. I think there is Ishan Kishan who has also done well, who has been waiting in the wings," he added.
He praised Jaiswal's performance in the IPL and expressed confidence that he will be ready to make his mark in ODIs and T20s after gaining experience in the T20 setup.
Karthik also acknowledged other young batters who have impressed him during the tournament. He mentioned the names of Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, and Tilak Varma as potential contenders for the T20 World Cup squad alongside Jaiswal.
"I do not think anybody who is among the youngsters that I am going to say is going to make it to this 50-over World Cup. But I do feel that in the next World Cup, I think we will see names like Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Tilak Varma. These four names will be banging the door hard if not already part of the team because I think they're doing so well. They need to get a look into that T20 setup, and they will do phenomenally well, I have no doubt about it," Karthik concluded.
(ANI inputs)
