Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina hailed Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for his incredible knock of 98* against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Edan Gardens on Thursday.
Jaiswal blew away the KKR bowlers in the powerplay and also broke the IPL record of the fastest fifty, previously held by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins, managing it in just 13 balls. Raina feels India needs such aggressive players for the upcoming ODI World Cup and reckons Jaiswal could be considered.
Speaking on air with Jio Cinema, Suresh Raina explained how Indian captain Rohit Sharma could benefit from having players like Yashasvi Jaiswal in the mix for the World Cup:
"If I was the Indian selector, I would have signed him today itself for the World Cup because he is in a very fresh mind. He reminds me of Virender Sehwag. I'm sure Rohit Sharma will be watching this because he will be searching for batters like him for the World Cup."
Former Australian speedster Brett Lee was also thrilled with the way Jaiswal batted and feels the southpaw should get his maiden India call-up soon. He tweeted:
"Get him in the the 🇮🇳 team now @BCCI! Yashasvi Jaiswal"
Net run rate was the only thing on our mind: Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal was just two runs shy of getting his second hundred of the IPL 2023 season. However, he wasn't disappointed by that as he claimed the talk between him and skipper Sanju Samson in the middle was purely about getting to the total as quickly as possible.
This has helped them boost their net run rate and also their chances of making it to the playoffs. On this, Jaiswal stated:
"I wanted to finish the game and winning the game has been my motto. I'm blessed and grateful, I'm trying my best. (On whether he feels he missed out on a century) I think the net run rate was the only thing in our mind, me and Sanju were only talking about finishing the game quickly."
The Royals will now host the Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday, May 14, in what could be a potential knockout game for both teams.
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