Yashasvi Jaiswal, star Mumbai and India batter, kept wickets for his domestic team in their ongoing practice game before the Ranji Trophy 2026 season begins. Mumbai is set to play Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from October 11 onwards.
Mumbai's Ranji Trophy skipper, Siddhesh Lad, stated that Jaiswal has been putting a lot of effort into his wicketkeeping and that he aspires to play for Mumbai and possibly even India.
On Wednesday, Jaiswal posted a video on social media that featured recordings of him taking wickets during a match simulation the Mumbai team played.
"With Yashasvi, I feel he is trying hard to start keeping wickets; that's what I heard from him. He wants to eventually, in the future, keep wickets for maybe Mumbai or go on to keep wickets for the Indian team. This is what he is aiming for; that is what I feel. But I haven't got any clarity on that,” Lad said at a pre-season press conference, as quoted by Cricinfo.
Jaiswal has cemented his spot in the Indian Test team as an opener but still remains the backup in the ODI team, while he hasn’t been given chances to prove himself in T20Is.
That could be the reason why Jaiswal has decided to introduce a new factor in the game since he does not use his off-break bowling much after his promotion from the Under-19 level.
"He is someone who has started practising keeping wickets because he feels he wants to add something more to his game. I am not very sure what his intentions are, but right now he is practising keeping wickets, and if he keeps practising, he will get used to it,” Lad told PTI.
Jaiswal will be available for Mumbai’s first game against Chandigarh and then will travel to New Zealand for the red-ball games with India A and then for the two-Test series.
Lad went on to reveal how Jaiswal personally informed the Mumbai selectors that he would participate in the Ranji game despite the selectors not having even enquired about his availability. Lad talked about the importance of Jaiswal and what it means for an international to be part of the dressing room.
"Someone like Yashasvi doesn't only add performances, but he adds value to the team with his experience, and he is someone who has done really well at the highest level," Lad said. "Sharing a dressing room with someone like Yashasvi helps us also with the youngsters. We are looking forward to it,” Lad added.
