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India vs SA: Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early in the first ODI against South Africa. (AP)
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has insisted that youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad need to be among the runs in the second ODI against South Africa in Raipur on Wednesday. Chopra’s concerns were due to the uncertainty over whether Jaiswal and Gaikwad would receive a long run in their respective positions when the injured captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer return to the side.
In the series opener in Ranchi, Jaiswal fell for 18 to left-arm pacer Marco Jansen. Despite establishing himself as a front-line Test opener, the outing was only Jaiswal’s second ODI since his international debut. Meanwhile, a regular opener in the 50-over format, Gaikwad was forced to come in at number four in the position vacated by Iyer due to a rib injury he sustained during the Australia tour last month.
Gaikwad had a forgettable outing, falling for 8 off 14 deliveries. Chopra said both Jaiswal and Gaikwad needed runs to remain in contention, especially with the latter playing out of his position on his ODI comeback.
“Yashasvi and Ruturaj, please score runs, because one guy is playing in the captain’s place and the other guy is playing in the vice-captain’s place. For how long will the captain and vice-captain stay out? They won’t remain out for long. So Yashasvi against left-armers, whether it’s Marco Jansen or Nandre Burger, please score runs,” Cholpra said on his YouTube channel.
“There is just one more opportunity after this. We don’t know when you will get a chance in ODIs or T20Is after that. It’s a very important opportunity for you. The same is true for Ruturaj Gaikwad. He is being made to bat at No. 4. Are we setting people up to fail? Every time they get an opportunity, they are outside their comfort zone,” he added.
Like Ruturaj, like NKR
Chopra likened Gaikwad’s case to all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy who has been floating across formats without a defined role.
“Are we actually doing that? It seems like that to me for Ruturaj and at times for Nitish Kumar Reddy as well. We are sending Ruturaj at No. 4, but No. 4 is not his usual number. So I really hope that he also scores runs because he too will have only one more opportunity,” Chopra remarked.
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