“Yashasvi Jaiswal Should Have Replaced KL Rahul,” Opines Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan, former England cricket captain, believes that Yashasvi Jaiswal, an uncapped Indian opener, should have been chosen as KL Rahul’s replacement for the World Test Championship (WTC) final instead of Ishan Kishan. India will play against Australia in the WTC final starting June 7 at The Oval. Rahul sustained an injury to his right upper thigh while fielding in a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. There were speculations that the wicketkeeper-batter would miss the WTC final, which were later confirmed by Rahul himself. The BCCI announced Kishan as Rahul’s replacement and he will be the backup keeper for KS Bharat, a role earlier decided for KL Rahul.

According to a statement released by the BCCI, Rahul will undergo surgery at the earliest followed by rehab at the National Cricket Academy for the same. The statement also confirms Rahul’s absence from the WTC final against Australia. While Vaughan feels Jaiswal, who has yet to make his international debut, should have been selected instead of Kishan, the Indian selectors have made their decision and Kishan will now have the opportunity to prove his worth if given a chance in the upcoming WTC final.

“Jaiswal Is Going to Be a Superstar,” Says Vaughan

Jaiswal played a crucial role in Rajasthan Royals‘ win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their recent game by smashing 98 runs off just 47 balls. This innings helped Rajasthan Royals break their losing streak. After the match, Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, took to Twitter to make a significant comment.

“I would have selected @ybj_19 as KL Rahul’s replacement for the World Test championship final … He is that good .. he is going to be a superstar .. #India,” tweeted Michael Vaughan.

Throughout IPL 2023, the left-handed batter has been in excellent form. He presently ranks second on the list of top run-scorers in this year’s edition of the IPL, having scored 575 runs at a remarkable average of 52.27 and a strike rate of 167.15.

The Indian team has faced injury setbacks prior to the WTC final 2023. Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant had been ruled out of the game. Recently, the team was hit with another major blow when Shreyas Iyer and Rahul were declared unfit. Iyer was suffering from a back injury, while Rahul hurt his thigh a few weeks away.

India’s squad for WTC final: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat