India are due to tour the West Indies in July-August 2023. In this article, we discuss two players that are likely to benefit the most from the upcoming tour.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal has dominated the news cycle after a call up from the selectors for the tour of the Caribbeans. Thanks to brilliant performances in domestic cricket, the uncapped player has been on the national selectors’ radar.
Jaiswal had a sensational outing in IPL 2023. On 20 April, the southpaw got his maiden ton (124 from 62 balls) versus Mumbai Indians. On 11 May, the Rajasthan Royals opener broke the record for the fastest 50 in the IPL. He got to the mark in just 13 balls, erasing the mark that was previously jointly held by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins. After plundering 625 runs from 14 games, Jaiswal became RR’s highest run scorer of the season.
The left-hander burst into the limelight in 2019 when he got selected to the India U19 T20 World Cup squad. He was the top scorer of the competition – his exploits included a ton against Pakistan in the semi-final.
Earlier that year, Jaiswal began his first-class career, playing for Mumbai in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy. On 16 October 2019, he became the youngest player to hit a list A double century. In a Vijay Hazare game, he smashed the Jharkhand bowlers for 203 runs from just 154 balls. He scored 564 runs in 6 games to finish among the best five run scorers. His exploits earned him a place in the India B squad to play in 2019–20 Deodhar Trophy.
However, Jaiswal’s meteoric rise began after he was contracted to play for Rajasthan Royals in the 2020 IPL auction.
Following India’s poor showing in the World Test Championship final, Cheteshwar Pujara, an India regular, was axed. That paved the way for Jaiswal to find a spot in the Indian squad.
Sanju Samson
Except for the absence of Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson wouldn’t have been on the plane to the West Indies. In all probability, he will keep wickets in ODIs while Ishan Kishan could open the innings with Rohit Sharma. Gill could go down the order to number three.
Sanju has scored 330 runs in 11 ODIs at an average of 66.00. Though he hasn’t scored a ton yet, his highest score of 86 not out was a brilliant effort. It came during a chase of 250 from 40 overs versus South Africa at Lucknow in October 2022. In a rain curtailed game on a dodgy wicket, the Indian batting collapsed. Samson’s effort went in vain as India finished 10 runs short.
Samson would have fond memories of his previous visit to the Caribbeans in July 2022. The wicket keeper-batsman had returned to the India ODI squad a year after making his debut versus Sri Lanka. He did not have the best start to the series, getting out for just 12 in the first ODI at Port of Spain. In the 2nd game at the same venue, West Indies batted first and set India a stiff target of 312. India’s chase was hampered by an early loss of wickets.
Samson walked in with the scorecard reading 79 for the loss of the wickets of Dhawan, Gill and SKY. The young batter joined Shreyas Iyer in a 4th wicket stand of 99 runs before Iyer got out. Following an unfortunate run out 27 runs later, Samson was also dismissed. However, at 205 for 5 India had the platform they needed. Thanks to some death over pyrotechnics from Axar Patel and Hooda, they got over the line with balls to spare.
With a question mark hanging over Pant’s future, the upcoming West Indies tour could be just the break Samson needs. For a start, Samson could use the opportunity to gatecrash into India’s ODI World Cup squad.
Conclusion
Both Jaiswal and Samson have got lucky breaks in a highly competitive cricket environment. We believe that they are on the cusp of great international careers. To make things happen, however, each young player must grab the opportunity with both hands. If you are looking to bet on the upcoming Indian tour of the West Indies, you can check out the great welcome bonus offered with the Parimatch bonus code.
