Yashasvi Jaiswal replaces Ruturaj Gaikwad as standby player in India’s WTC squad - Reports

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 625 runs for his franchise Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2023.

Young left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal has been named as the replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad as a standby player in the Indian squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final to be played at the Oval in London from June 7 against Australia.

The India team has left for the WTC final in batches. Virat Kohli was part of one of the first few batches to reach London. The final will be played from June 7 to 11 at the Oval. India was a WTC finalist in 2021 as well but lost to New Zealand.

The young Jaiswal had a breakout season in IPL 2023 for the Rajasthan Royals as he smashed 625 runs in 14 matches, the most by an uncapped player, breaking the record of Shaun Marsh, who had made 616 runs in IPL 2008.

He also hit one century- 124 and the fastest-ever fifty in IPL history, coming off just 13 balls, apart from 4 other half-centuries.

He has had a brilliant Ranji Trophy season as he scored 315 runs in five games, averaging 45, with one fifty and a century. He scored 213 and 144 in the two innings of the Irani Trophy for the Rest of India against Madhya Pradesh, making him the highest run-scorer of the tournament ever.   

He has 1845 runs in 26 First Class innings averaging 80.21, scoring nine tons and two fifties, which hints at his conversion rate.

Ruturaj Gaikwad unavailable for WTC 2021-21 final due to his marriage

The BCCI had named Gaikwad as a stand-by opener for the World T20 final against Australia, but ESPNCricinfo believes that the batter notified the board that he would only be able to join the team until June 5. Jaiswal will be going to London in the coming days because he has a UK visa.

Reports have suggested that Ruturaj Gaikwad is to get married on June 3, hence the delay in his availability, which has opened the doors to Jaiswal in the Indian team.

Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Jasprit Bumrah will be absent from Team India's Test squad. Ajinkya Rahane has recently replaced KL Rahul in the squad and is expected to play. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar and Suryakumar Yadav have been named as stand-by players with Jaiswal.