Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has been told to report to his state team Mumbai ahead of their Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Jaiswal, who was India's highest run-scorer in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, has been rested for the five-T20I series against England starting January 22.
After the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) diktat for senior squad's players to play domestic cricket, Shubman Gill is set to play in Punjab's next game as well. Jaiswal will train at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). On January 14, skipper Rohit Sharma turned up for Mumbai Ranji team's practice session as well. However, he is yet to inform the team whether he will play in their next game against Jammu & Kashmir starting December 23.
Also, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli have been named in Delhi's list of probables before their clash against Saurashtra on January 23. If Kohli plays red-ball cricket ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2024-25, he will play the domestic tournament after a long gap of more than 12 years.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir also stressed on the importance of playing domestic cricket. He made it clear that he wants every available player to play domestic cricket.
"I would always like everyone to play domestic cricket. That is how much importance domestic cricket needs to be given. Not only one game. If they are available and they have the commitment to play red ball cricket, everyone should play domestic cricket. As simple as it can get. If you don't give importance to domestic cricket, you will never get the desired players that you want," Gambhir said in the post-series press conference in Australia.
Jaiswal's performance in Australia
In his first tour of Australia as part of Test squad, Jaiswal scored 391 runs from 10 innings at an average of 43.44. He scored a match-winning hundred in the second innings of Perth Test. He scored half-centuries in the MCG Test but they went in vain. Only Travis Head scored more runs than him. Head scored 448 runs from nine innings.
Jaiswal's Test debut after stellar performances in Ranji Trophy
The southpaw made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2019. From six innings in 2022, he impressed the selectors with an average of 83 including three centuries. On the back of his performances in domestic cricket, he made his Test debut against West Indies in 2023. Now, he averages over 50 in Tests with 1,798 runs from 19 games including four centuries and 20 fifties.