India vs South Africa: The Yashaswi Jaiswal dilemma for Indian T20 team

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill (PTI Photo)

In Indian cricket it is always the case that the man on the bench is better than the one playing. Such is the fan following that the pasture is always green on the other side in an age of social media. But the one case where this is a relevant subject of discussion is the case of Yashaswi Jaiswal.

Jaiswal is a rare talent. Some believe that he is as good as a Virender Sehwag and is an all format star for the future. While he has already done well in the red ball format, he is waiting his turn in the 50 over format with Rohit Sharma continuing to do well. In Australia too Rohit played a brilliant hand and Jaiswal will have to wait a little longer before he gets an opportunity.

The T20 format, however, is different. Jaiswal is clearly ready and has proved it time and again in the IPL. At the domestic level he is scoring loads of runs and is continuously pushing the bar. In fact, I think he has done enough to be tried out in the series against South Africa with the World Cup just three months away.

At the moment, India is persisting with Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order. Sharma, surprisingly, has been highly consistent despite playing a high risk high reward game. So much so that he is now a certainty in the World Cup on home soil in February 2026. Gill, however, hasn’t been as consistent since coming back to the T-20 set up in the Asia Cup. While he is the vice captain and perhaps the skipper of the future, the question is should he be allowed to focus on red ball cricket for the time being and should India turn to Jaiswal or go back to Sanju Samson?

In all fairness Jaiswal deserves a go against South Africa. Playing him against New Zealand in January 2026 will be a little risky with the World Cup less than a month away. If the experiment has to be tried out, it has to happen against South Africa. And if he does perform it could well mean that Samson could miss out from World Cup selection. With Jitesh doing well, I don’t see Samson slotting back in the middle order and that leaves only the opening slot to play for. In such a scenario, it could be a shoot out between Gill and Jaiswal. While Gill is considerably ahead in the pecking order at the moment and is also a leadership candidate, sport is always about performance and Jaiswal has indeed done enough to be given a look in. Much like Rohit Sharma was under pressure to perform in the ODI’s, Shubman Gill will feel the heat in the last two T20I’s in Australia.

Many believe that Jaiswal and Abhishek Sharma could be a lethal opening combination on home soil for the World Cup with Shubman at 3 and SKY at 4. Will India try out such a combination in the near future in the series against South Africa? It is an option for sure with the experiment well worth it. In sum, with Jaiswal pushing the bar it will be interesting to see how long India can continue to leave him out.