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Yashasvi Jaiswal in T20Is (Source: AFP)
When Yashasvi Jaiswal first grabbed headlines before the U19 World Cup 2020, his journey from selling Pani Puri on the streets of Mumbai to professional cricket became the talk of the town. There was a lot of buzz about his consistency even before the start of the tournament, and he lived upto all that hype by becoming the leading run-scorer.
The Hunger For Improvement In A Rapidly Changing World Of Cricket
It earned him an IPL contract with the Rajasthan Royals, but in his maiden season, the batter clearly looked unprepared for the challenge. However, that is when Yashasvi Jaiswal decided to take his game to the next level. The southpaw was always a consistent batter in his junior days, but was not known for being an ultra-aggressive batter.
Jaiswal, though, at a very young age, understood the trajectory of the modern-day T20 cricket and tried to mould his game according to the needs of the format. However, aggressiveness comes at the cost of consistency, and a young Yashasvi Jaiswal was willing to pay that price. Thus, the 2021 and 2022 IPL seasons were more like trailers before the real movie. Jaiswal displayed flashes of his attacking mindset but could not get big runs.
During those years, Yashasvi Jaiswal was scoring runs in other formats for Mumbai. He could have easily curbed some of his attacking instincts in the T20 format and found more consistency. However, Jaiswal wanted to prove himself a genuine impact player in the shortest format, and finally, he unleashed all his might in the 2023 IPL season.
Rise Of A Young Superstar In Indian Cricket
It turned out to be a breakthrough season for him, where he smashed over 600 runs at a strike-rate of over 160, clearly signalling that he is now ready for international cricket. The runs were already flowing in first-class cricket, and so Yashasvi got his opportunity in both Tests and T20Is on the Caribbean tour. The tour was in July and August of 2023, and since then, the young left-handed batter has never looked back.
The cricketer blasted a century in his debut Test and hammered 84 in just his second T20I. Since his Test debut, Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored the most runs for India in the purest format of the game. He has not only scored runs in Indian conditions but has smashed centuries on his first UK and Australian tour, a feat even many Indian cricket legends have not been able to achieve.
Adaptabilty To Formats - Jaiswal's Mantra For Success
However, the true quality of Yashasvi Jaiswal lies not only in his exploits in Test cricket but also in the way he bats in the shortest format of cricket. Quite often, one sees a good Test cricketer playing an anchor role in T20 format, but Yashasvi Jaiswal is one of those rare gems who can even smash 30 in an over or score big hundreds in tough conditions just like he did at the Oval.
Like in Test cricket, Yashasvi has dominated T20Is too whenever he has played in the format. The batter was a regular in the Indian T20I side from his debut till July 2024 and has an average of 36.15 with a strike-rate of 164.31. His strike-rate perfectly aligns with India cricket's ultra-aggressive approach in T20Is, and till July 2024, there was hardly anyone who could even question his place in the Indian T20I side.
No Place In Asia Cup 2025 Squad For Yashasvi Jaiswal?
However, he has not played a single T20I since July 2024, and this has raised doubts over his place in the Asia Cup 2025 side. So, why Yashasvi did not play a single T20I in the last year? Was there any performance-related issue? The answer to the second question is a big NO!
Let's come to the first question now. The focus after the T20 World Cup 2024 was on ODI and Test cricket. India needed its best players for the Champions Trophy 2025 and Test cricket. Thus, tight scheduling and even overlapping of series forced the Indian team management not to consider their Test stars in T20Is. Yashasvi Jaiswal is a critical part of the Indian Test side, and so India needed him fresh and ready for that format and as the Champions Trophy came closer, he was drafted into the ODI side as well.
Thus, it opened up consistent opportunities for Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson at the top of the order. Both of them capitalised on it and played some stunning knocks while Tilak Varma also made his opportunities count at number 3. As a result, there is scepticism in the Indian cricketing circles about bringing in players from other formats to T20Is. So, there are demands that selectors should keep Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill away from the T20I team for the Asia Cup 2025.
Respect A Rare Asset And Understand The Difference
However, this is where the difference between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill should be underlined. Gill is a fantastic batter and has a great record in ODIs. He has now shown his batting prowess in Test cricket as well. Gill, though, is more of a batter who takes time to settle before playing his shots, which reflects in his T20I strike-rate of 139. Jaiswal, on the other hand, tends to take his game directly to the fifth gear in the shortest format and fits perfectly with the brand of cricket the Indian team management is expecting in the shortest format.
Jaiswal also did not leave any stone unturned with his performance in IPL 2025, and he deserves to be part of the Indian T20I team. He can bat at three if needed or one of Abhishek or Samson could move one position down, which will help India continue their same ultra-aggressive approach in T20Is. The same cannot be said about Gill, as his inclusion could force India to change its approach. Also, Jaiswal was selected over Gill in the T20 World Cup 2024 and given the kind of impactful performances he has delivered in T20Is, he should be in the Asia Cup side.
Finally, it is important to understand that there are very few players who can match power-hitting with a solid defensive technique, and Yashasvi Jaiswal is one of them. Thus, it would be nothing short of a crime if selectors ignore Yashasvi Jaiswal for the Asia Cup 2025, and would be a huge disrespect to a rare, genuine all-format cricketer.
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.jpg?type=mq "Mohammad Wasim Jr. Last T20I Match!")
