Yashasvi Jaiswal’s aggressive knock for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their IPL 2023 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has led Aakash Chopra to feel that he is not too far away from wearing the Team India jersey.
On May 11, when KKR was to bat first in Kolkata, they set a 150-run target for RR. Sanju Samson and company successfully chased down the target with 9 wickets and 41 deliveries remaining. RR moved up to third place in the points standings. Jaiswal blasted an unbeaten 98 off only 47 balls.
In a video review of the game posted to his YouTube account, Chopra predicted the Rajasthan opener will have a successful future, saying:
“Naam Yashasvi, kaam yashashvi, banda tejaswi. The applause should keep continuing. He is playing in the pink jersey as of now, but he will 100% play for India. It’s a matter of when and not if.”
The former Indian batsman said that Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a superb spell during KKR’s innings but the Rajasthan Royals opener nearly single-handedly won them the game, saying:
“He is a super player. It seemed he defeated Kolkata alone this time. Of course, Chahal picked up four wickets but this innings – the ball was round but it lost its shape because of the hitting.”
Chahal helped RR limit KKR to a below-par total with figures of 4/25 in his four overs. After that, the youngster drove the KKR bowlers all over the field to turn the game into a one-sided one.
Aakash Chopra picks Yashasvi Jaiswal as his MVP
Aakash Chopra remarked that the slightly challenging surface appeared to be a batter’s paradise when he was playing, explaining:
“When Yashasvi was batting, the pitch looked totally different. The most valuable player – I feel like taking Yuzi Chahal’s name because he picked up four wickets, the Purple Cap is on his head and he has taken the most wickets in this tournament’s history but the truth is that Yashasvi’s innings was special.”
“That was an innings to remember, applaud, acknowledge and appreciate. He batted amazingly well. If I had been commentating, I would have run out of adjectives. The fastest fifty in the history of the tournament. It is rare that you reach that far so early. The most valuable player has to be Jaiswal.”
In his final statement, Chopra urged the selectors to choose Jaiswal for India’s next away tour to the West Indies. He continued that the youngster may even wear Team India’s jersey for the home series against Afghanistan in the next month.