India’s rising star batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has been in solid form with the bat and still hasn’t made an ODI debut yet. However, the selectors would be impressed with his performance as an opening batter in the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 and would never mind giving him a chance to prove his competency in the 50-over format.
As India played only six ODIs after the World Cup 2023 which includes three of them in 2024, Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t selected for any of the white-ball tours. As a result, the selectors don’t have any recent data to choose any one of these two players when they prepare the squads for the forthcoming 3-match ODI series against England and Champions Trophy 2025.
In those six games, India tested the strength of the bench players by giving a chance to new talents who might represent the team in the next ODI World Cup in 2027. While the T20 group has undergone major changes and the test squad is in the transition phase, several questions arise on which players should be in the ODI team based on their form and fitness.
Should Yashasvi Jaiswal play an Opener’s Role in ODIs?
Although Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t played a single ODI match, he might be promoted as the team’s regular opening batter in all formats. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have been the preferred openers in the ODI squad. As Gill recovered from dengue and replaced Ishan Kishan in World Cup 2023, he maintained a decent opening partnership with Rohit. However, the two young batters were rested for the 3-match ODI series against South Africa in December of that year.
Subsequently, Jaiswal overtook Gill’s spot in the T20I squad and for the T20 World Cup 2024 as well and managed to score just 57 runs in 3 matches of India’s 2-0 loss in the ODI Series in Sri Lanka in the previous year’s August.
Despite scoring a test century against Bangladesh in the home test series, Shubman Gill’s form dipped in the recent 5-match test series in Australia. As a result, he was sidelined in the team’s playing XI for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Rohit Sharma seems to be set to lead the ODI squad and open the innings, while Virat Kohli retains his No.3 spot. Suppose India prefers an aggressive approach in the top order, then bringing in a left-handed batter like Yashasvi Jaiswal can bolster the batting line-up.
The 23-year-old was India’s top-run scorer in the BGT 2024-25 against the Aussies and holds an impressive record in List A cricket. He scored 1,511 runs in 32 innings of domestic 50-over cricket at an average of 54 and strike rate of 86.19, including 5 hundreds and 7 fifties.
In comparison, other batters such as Sai Sudharshan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rajat Pathidar opened the innings for Team India in ODIs against South Africa after the World Cup 2023. But, still, Jaiswal emerges as the favorite choice.
Can Ravindra Jadeja still get selected for ODIs?
Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t played any ODI match after the 2023 World Cup final against Australia and his chances to return to the 50-over format seem to be tough. During Rahul Dravid’s era as the team’s head coach, specialist batters such as Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and Tilak Varma performed in the middle order in the ODIs in South Africa.
In contrast, Gautam Gambhir and the selectors prioritized having additional bowling options as well as ensuring to increase the batting depth for the Sri Lankan tour. As a result, there is heavy competition for all-rounders with Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, and Washington Sundar being the main contenders.
Additionally, Nitish Kumar Reddy joins the list as the promising pace-bowling all-rounder after his sensational maiden international century in the Boxing Day test as well as his noteworthy contributions throughout the recent Australian tour.
Moreover, Hardik Pandya is expected to return in ODIs after proving his fitness levels representing Baroda in the 20-over and 50-over contests. Also, Parag is most likely to get fit after undergoing long-term treatment due to a shoulder injury.
Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and, Rishabh Pant are expected to secure their position in the middle order, while Suryakumar Yadav’s chances seem to be minimal.
Final Opinion:
It is understood that Yashasvi Jaiswal has a higher chance of being picked for the ODI squad and possibly marks his debut in this format against England this year. In other words, Shubman Gill, who has been a prominent batter might once again lose his spot to the left-hander, but this time in the 50-over model.
Finally, Ravindra Jadeja doesn’t seem to make clear-cut in ODIs as he faces intense competition from other all-rounders such as Axar, Parag, Dube, Nitish, Washington, and, Hardik.