Yashasvi Jaiswal has been selected as Virat Kohli's replacement for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan which is slated to begin on June 13.
The selection committee made the decision in a press conference on June 6, with Kohli being ruled out of the series due to injury. The former Indian captain was originally named in the ODI squad.
The injury to Kohli described by team management as a rare distal semimembranosus tendon tear, happened during his match-winning innings during the IPL 2026 final. The same century led RCB to their second straight title but the injury has taken its toll.
The ODI series is scheduled to be played following the ongoing one-off Test match against Afghanistan in Mullanpur. The three games will be held on June 13, June 17 and June 20 at Dharamshala, Lucknow and Chennai, respectively.
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Jaiswal gets another huge opportunity
Despite reports that Ruturaj Gaikwad may replace the Delhi player for the ODI series before the official decision, Jaiswal was picked by the selectors.
The Rajasthan Royals opener is already in India's thoughts across all three formats and is presently part of the Indian squad for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan. Jaiswal, having always given his best when selected for the Indian side, has played 4 ODI games, scoring 171 with a century against South Africa at Vishakhapatnam last year.
His century against South Africa came after 3 successive low scores in his first thee ODIs against England and South Africa. Not just in Tests and ODIs, the southpaw has done pretty well in T20Is. Jaiswal averages 36.15 with a strike-rate of 164.31 in 22 innings. The left handed opener had another decent IPL season where he scored 427 runs at an average of 30.5.
The Indian selectors will undoubtedly be disappointed that Virat Kohli will miss the series, given his class consistency and record at this level. However the national selection committee appears to have used this series to look to the future and to assess some of the other talents they have at their disposal.
Jaiswal in particular will see this as an opportunity to consolidate his position within the ODI team and with India looking toward the major ICC events coming their way in the near future this young man's time could well be coming in limited-overs cricket.
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