Jaiswal, Rahul, Rana in focus
Along with a dominance-extending series clean sweep, India will eye substantial runs from KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the third and final ODI against Afghanistan here on Saturday. While Rahul’s spot in the one-day squad has never really been in doubt, Jaiswal would welcome a heavy knock to stake his claim for a space in the already-crowded top-order. Jaiswal was brought back to the 50-over format for the first time since December 2025, and he was dismissed for 4 in the second match against the Afghans at Lucknow.
The left-hander had made an unbeaten 116 against South Africa at Visakhapatnam in his previous appearance but since then, the return of Ishan Kishan has added one more contender to the top-order positions. Kishan did no harm to his reputation with a hundred at Lucknow, and skipper Shubman Gill dropped himself to No. 3 to accommodate Jaiswal.
But once Virat Kohli returns to the side after recovering from his hamstring injury, the batting superstar is certain to occupy the No. 3 slot. It leaves Gill with no other option but to return to opening the innings alongside Rohit Sharma. With Kishan and Shreyas Iyer occupying the No. 4 and 5 respectively, Jaiswal perforce needs to make use of the limited opportunities that come his way.
It’s a tight and uncomfortable space for any batter, let alone for a hugely talented cricketer like Jaiswal but the team combination rigmarole is an all-consuming maze at this point.
It’s also imperative for Jaiswal to score big because India’s ODI squad to tour England for three matches will be announced soon, and another slip-up might just not be taken kindly by a ruthless and fast-moving selection panel headed by Ajit Agarkar.
If they can omit Suryakumar Yadav not very long after guiding the team to a T20 World Cup triumph no less, other players too might not be spared the axe.
So, it will not be an exaggeration to think that Jaiswal needs to make his fortune all by himself, and stay in contention for an ODI berth, particularly in the case of a fitness worry to anyone in top three.
Rahul offers a different case altogether. The return of Iyer to the India set-up after a lengthy hiatus means that the 34-year-old will now have to bat largely at No. 6, unless Kishan, the current No. 4, moves up to opening for some reason, allowing the team management the provision to automatically promote the duo higher up the order.
For long, No. 5 has been Rahul’s comfort zone, evident in his glittering numbers - 1517 runs from 38 matches at an average of 63.2 overs with three hundreds and 10 fifties.
It constitutes for nearly half of his career stats. But another claimant has come for that place, and Rahul’s numbers at six - 332 runs from 15 matches at 41.5 with a solitary fifty - are good without being sparkling.
It’s primarily because of the limited number of overs he will get to play from the No. 6 slot, but he needs to adapt to making those quick fifties, or find solace in extrapolating the team total with the cameos.
Rana returns: India have added Harshit Rana into the squad ahead of Chennai ODI after completing rehabilitation at BCCI Centre of Excellence, and the pacer might come in for Arshdeep Singh, who has played two matches in this series.
It will also give India the luxury of having a handy batter down the order in the absence of injured Nitish Kumar Reddy, besides the management and selectors can assess his readiness in a game situation ahead of the UK tour.
Gurnoor Brar has also played two matches, but the bigwigs might want to take an extended look at the pacer in various conditions.
On the other hand, Afghanistan have been totally outplayed in this series in both the red and white ball formats so far.
They will be eager to sign off the series showing more fight, if not with a victory. So far, their outings in both the ODIs have been a blot on their reputation as a wily white-ball outfit.
But for that, the tourists will need to show more gumption in batting and bowling departments.
