Young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and all-rounder Shivam Dube are likely to be recipients of the BCCI central contract for the 2023-24 season. This comes after the brilliant outings both of them have had in recent times for India.
The Mumbai duo's names were not there when the Board had, on March 26 last year announced the list of 26 Indian players contracted for the 2022-23 season.
Young Jaiswal made his India Test debut on the tour of West Indies at Roseau in July 2023 and started with a brilliant 171 on debut. So far, he has played four Tests, scoring 316 runs with an average of 45.14.
On the same West Indies tour, the aggressive left-hander made his T20I debut in Guyana. Jaiswal has played 16 T20Is, in which he has scored 498 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 163.81, and an average of 35.57.
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Meanwhile, Shivam Dube has played 20 T20Is, scoring 275 runs with 3 fifties at a strike rate of 149.45. He has also played one ODI, scoring 9 runs. With the ball, he has 8 wickets in T20Is.
On Sunday night, Dube smashed a 32-ball 63*, while Jaiswal made 68 runs as India chased down Afghanistan’s 172 with ease in the second T20I of the series in Indore. In Mohali, Dube had carted a 40-ball 60* to help India win the first T20I.
"The selectors and the team management want him to bowl more and more, as that adds immense value to Dube as a player. This is why he is bowling a fair bit during this series. If he can chip in with a few overs with the ball, he can cement his place in the side for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. This is crucial because he is the ideal backup to the injury-prone Hardik Pandya," a reliable source in the BCCI told Times of India.
Dube has credited his changed batting style to his time in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and guidance from MS Dhoni. After enjoying a decent outing in IPL 2022 where he scored 289 runs in 11 games, Dube hammered 418 runs in 16 matches in IPL 2023 at a strike rate of 158.33. He hit 35 sixes, the maximum by an Indian batter in the last edition of the IPL.
