WTC 2023 final: Yashasvi Jaiswal to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad as stand-by opener

With all the attention now slowly and gradually shifting towards the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, India's standby opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad will be missing the action as the 26-year-old is set to get married on June 3-4 and cannot join the squad in London before June 5. Gaikwad was initially added by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a backup opener for the WTC final, in which India would play Australia at The Oval starting June 7. 

But now as the circumstances stand Gaikwad told BCCI that he won't be able to join on time and hence Rahul Dravid, the head coach for the Indian Cricket team, immediately sought a substitute. As reported by The Indian Express, young Yashasvi Jaiswal has been inducted into the team and will be joining the squad soon. Gaikwad is set to marry his acquaintance Utkarsha.

 “He (Jaiswal) will be joining the Indian team as Gaikwad has informed us that he won’t be able to fly due to his marriage. He would be able to join the team post-June 5. (But) Coach Rahul Dravid took a call, asking the selectors to pick a replacement. So, Jaiswal will now fly to London soon,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.

The dynamic left-handed batter had quite a blistering IPL 2023 where the 21-year-old smashed 625 runs in the 14 games that he played for Rajasthan Royals (RR). The RR batter was in sublime form throughout the season as the southpaw even scored a mind-boggling century. Although Jaiswal will be travelling to London in a few days the team management has reportedly asked the opening batter to begin practising with the red ball because he already has a UK visa.

Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma will reportedly fly to London on May 28. Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja, who will play in the IPL final on Sunday, will most probably leave on May 30. The members of the Indian team who are already in London have started their training.