Dropped from India’s ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal made his return following an injury to Virat Kohli.
The former India captain suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL 2026 final and was ruled out. The selectors could have also recalled Ruturaj Gaikwad, but they picked Yashasvi over him. Aakash Chopra justified Jaiswal’s selection over Ruturaj and opined that the left-handed batter will stay on the bench.
“Why wasn’t Ruturaj Gaikwad picked as Virat Kohli’s replacement? As we speak, a tri-nation series is being played where Ruturaj Gaikwad has been selected as a vice-captain, and he has scored a hundred in the first match while batting at No. 4. I am saying he hasn’t been selected just because of one reason. Neither he nor Yashasvi Jaiswal has a chance of playing in the XI,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Since Yashasvi Jaiswal is an integral part of India’s Test team and was playing this Test (one-off Test against Afghanistan) as well, it just made a lot of sense to keep him only, that he could go to Dharamsala from Chandigarh. It’s a short drive. He won’t get a place in the XI, as Ishan Kishan has to be played at No. 3,” he added.
Interestingly, both Ruturaj and Jaiswal scored centuries in their previous ODI innings. Ruturaj slammed a ton in the second ODI of the series against South Africa, played in Raipur. He didn’t get a chance to bat in the third ODI.
Yashasvi scored a century in the third game. Ruturaj was dropped for the home ODI series against New Zealand while Yashasvi stayed on the bench as the regulars made their return.
India vs Afghanistan fixtures
The three -Afghanistan ODIs will be played on June 13, 17 and 20 in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai, respectively. The home team registered a dominant innings win over Afghanistan in the one-off Test. The game finished on the third day.