Rajasthan Royals’ young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal is all set to replace senior Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara in the Indian test squad for the upcoming test series against West Indies. As per the reports, Indian team selectors are set to drop Pujara after his dual failures with the bat in the WTC 2023 Final.
The first series for Team India in the 2023–25 WTC cycle will be their trip to the West Indies for the two-match series. The selection committee is not anticipated to make any huge changes but Cheteshwar Pujara’s failure in the last couple of years might prove to be costly for him.
Yashasvi Jaiswal set to replace Cheteshwar Pujara for West Indies Test series
Some of the performers in the IPL 2023 season will be rewarded for the West Indies series according to a report in the Cricbuzz website. However, most of the players in the test squad will retain their place as the selectors are not looking to experiment too much.
“Every Test is important, and its result contributes to the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. We cannot experiment in a Test match,” a source was quoted as saying by the Cricbuzz website.
While Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane are set to retain their place in the top order, Pujara will be replaced by young Mumbai batter Yashasvi Jaiswal. Since the year 2020, Pujara has only one century in 52 innings at a mediocre average of 29.69 in the test format.
Pujara’s shot selection was questioned during the WTC 2023 final in which he scored 14 and 27 in the two innings. He was looking decent in the second innings but tried playing an uppercut when the Indian team were already in a spot of bother after losing their openers.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been the talk of the town since the IPL 2023 where he scored 625 runs for the Rajasthan Royals with a strike rate of 164. He has done a great job batting at the number 3 position in the longest format of the game for his state team Mumbai and scores with a brisk strike rate which has always been a problem with Cheteshwar Pujara.
Pacer Mohammad Shami might also be rested for the series against West Indies considering workload management. The test series will begin on July 12 as the two teams will contest at Windsor Park in Dominica in the first test.
