Is in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal a worthwhile option as an opener for India in the Champions Trophy?

Before Yashasvi Jaiswal tore into the Test circuit within two years of his debut, he had already provided enough evidence of his white-ball prowess.

He was just 17 years old when he made his List A debut against Bangladesh U-23 in September 2019. The left-hander made headlines just a month later when he took part in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Jaiswal scored 564 runs in six innings with a fifty and three centuries, including a career-best 203, that made him the youngest to score a List A double hundred.

Five years on, the southpaw’s T20 and red-ball profiles have gone by rapid miles – 3,000 T20 runs at a 150.23 strike rate and 3,682 First-Class runs at 62.40. After the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, his Test aggregate reads 1,798 runs in 36 innings. Only Virender Sehwag and Cheteshwar Pujara have had better starts for India in Test cricket.

With the Champions Trophy only a month away, the pressure would soon shift to India’s preparation for the 50-over format. Hope floats around the fact that the woeful red-ball form of the top order may not spill over into their white-ball game. That would mean that captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, despite their wretched Australia tour, will pair up as India’s ODI openers for another ICC championship after the 2023 World Cup. But in Jaiswal selectors and team management have a viable option.

On the face of it, Jaiswal is better equipped to take guard should an opportunity arise in India’s Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 19. But will the selectors opt for a bold call with Rohit and Gill having a good 50-over record at the top? 

The 2023 ODI World Cup would have been a challenging introduction for Jaiswal only a few months into his international career. Also, India’s backup left-hander had to be a wicketkeeper in the absence of Rishabh Pant.