India handed debuts to youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Harshit Rana ahead of the 1st ODI against England in Nagpur on Thursday. Meanwhile, there was no place in the XI for batting great Virat Kohli, who missed out with a sore right knee. While Rohit presented the cap to his fellow opener Jaiswal, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami did honours for his understudy Rana. Both Rohit and Shami delivered motivating speech while presentive the respective ODI caps to Jaiswal and Rana, respectively.
“Jassu, you’ve enjoyed a great start to your international career. This is another format you’re going to enjoy the most. Trust me when I say that because, you’ve got everything required to play at this level. You’ve been successful in your short career but this is just a start. When you start well, it is important to continue to do that over and over again. All the best from all of us. Hope you have a great great career,” Rohit said in a video uploaded by BCCI.
Shami, on the other hand, added: “Well done and congratulations (Harshit Rana). For reaching here, you’ve done a lot of hardwork and it has finally paid off. It is a big day for your family. On behalf of everyone, we hope you take a lot of wickets. Hopefully you can make everyone proud by representing the country for a long time. Congratulations.”
Jaiswal has earned a name for himself in T20Is and Tests before making his debut in the 50-over format. With his exploits in red-ball cricket, Jaiswal has established himself as the next big thing to look out for.
In 19 Tests for India, the young southpaw has garnered 1,798 runs at an average of 52.88 with a mouth-watering strike rate of 65.66. In his short time with the Indian team, he has already hammered four centuries and 10 fifties. His best score stands at 214*.
In 23 T20Is, Jaiswal has scored 723 runs at an average of 36.15 and a strike rate of 164.31, with a century and five fifties in 22 innings, with the best score of 100.
Jaiswal also boasts fantastic List-A numbers, scoring 1,511 runs in 32 matches and 32 innings at an average of 53.96, with five centuries and seven fifties. His best score is 203.
On the other hand, Harshit has played two Tests and a sole T20I for India. In two Tests, he has four wickets at an average of 50.75, with best figures of 3/48. In a solitary T20I appearance against England, he took three wickets at an average of 11.00, ending the match with figures of 3/33. In 14 List-A matches, Harshit has taken 22 wickets at an average of 23.45, with best figures of 4/17.
Harshit’s debut became a hot topic for debate for fans and former cricketers in the fourth T20I. He came on as a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube and delivered a match-winning spell. The decision certainly triggered England fans, and captain Jos Buttler didn’t hide away his dissatisfaction after the game.
(With ANI Inputs)
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