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For more than 24 hours now, Rohit Sharma has remained a hot topic among cricket fans as he could hang up his boots after the ODI against England at Lord's. Yashasvi Jaiswal could be considered the instant replacement if Rohit steps down from the One Day International format.
In an online discussion between a group of journalists, a crucial question was raised: Why did the selectors not pick Jaiswal as the third opener for the ODI series against Afghanistan? In response, a Dainik Jagran reporter, Abhishek Tripathi, claimed that out of anger, the selectors did not pick Jaiswal for the series.
Rohit Sharma could announce his retirement soon from ODIs
Rohit Sharma is likely to announce his retirement from the ODI format soon, as per some reports. However, there is no official confirmation of that. It is believed that, ahead of the next ODI World Cup, which will be in 2027, the Indian team management wants to secure the services of the young opener Jaiswal permanently.
In comparison to the past few performances of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jaiswal's batting stats are more than impressive. As Rohit Sharma is still active in the format with the desire to represent the nation in the upcoming ODI World Cup, selectors found it hard to replace the former India cricketer, who won the 2024 T20 World Cup, with the emerging opener.
Why was Yashasvi Jaiswal not selected for the ODI series against Afghanistan?
During the online conversation, it is claimed that Jaiswal was heavily in the selectors' plans during the series against Afghanistan, but ultimately he was not picked only because of Rohit Sharma. According to Abhishek Tripathi, selectors did not include Yashasvi Jaiswal for the ODIs vs Afghanistan due to anger.
As Rohit was there in the team to play all three matches of the 3-match ODI contest, it became pointless to select Yashasvi Jaiswal as a third opener, as he had to sit on the bench throughout the series.
Kushan Sarkar, another journalist in the discussion panel who works for the news agency PTI, came up with a different theory. According to Kushan, Jaiswal was not selected because of a possible rotation policy.
Rohit Sharma was not part of the selectors' plans for the series against Afghanistan
Dismissing Kushan's claims immediately, Abhishek raised the question, 'Why did the selectors not pick Yashasvi Jaiswal for the ODIs against Afghanistan as a third opener?'
Kushan had no answer to that, and Abhishek's 'anger' theory sounds logical as their was not other claims to oppose it. He also mentioned that Rohit Sharma was about to be snubbed from squad aftere Afghanistan series.
"The selectors were not going to pick Rohit Sharma after the Afghanistan series... The selectors did not pick Yashasvi Jaiswal for the ODI series against England due to anger because they felt that if Rohit Sharma was being selected, Jaiswal's career should not be ruined by keeping him on the bench," Abhishek Tripathi stated.
-The selectors were not going to pick Rohit Sharma after the Afghanistan series.
— Indian Cricket 🏏 (@navshar54008403) July 17, 2026
-The selectors did not pick Yashasvi Jaiswal for the ODI series against England due to anger because they felt that if Rohit Sharma was being selected, Jaiswal's career should not be ruined by… pic.twitter.com/orFAxXbtcu
