India announced a team for their upcoming West Indies tour with some big changes to both Test and ODI squads on June 23. Yashavi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, and Ruturaj Gaikwad earned their maiden call-up in India's first series of WTC cycle 2023-2025. After learning about his selection, Jaiswal reacted emotionally and revealed that he is ready to express himself on the biggest stage.
The veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara failed to find a place in the Test squad after a flop show in the ICC World Test Championship 2023 Final, paving the way for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Jaiswal was part of India's reserve squad for the WTC final 2023 after Ruturaj Gaikwad's withdrawal due to his marriage.
Jaiswal, 21, revealed that his father started crying after learning about team selection and also said that he will do his best during India tour of West Indies.
"My father started crying. I have not yet met my mother [since the announcement], I am going to see her in some time. I was out from the morning, had a practice session as well as some other work," Jaiswal told PTI in an interview in Mumbai on Friday. "I am feeling good, I will try to do my best. I am excited but at the same time I just want to go out and express myself."
Talking about his preparations, Jaiswal said that he will be heading to Bengaluru to join National Cricket Academy soon. He said that he is well-prepared for his international debut and added that he was interacting with senior players during the WTC Final at The Oval earlier this month.
"I was a little nervous, till the time you do not get to know that your name is there in the team, there are butterflies. But it is a good feeling. My preparations have been going well and I got to interact a lot with the senior players [during the WTC final]. The conversation has been very simple - to focus on my work. I learned from them that in the end, it is all about you, how you take it going forward," Jaiswal added.
Jaiswal has scorched 845 runs in just 15 First Class matches at a stunning average of 80.21 with nine hundreds for Mumbai. He also enjoyed a sensational Indian Premier League 2023 season for Rajasthan Royals where he recorded 625 runs at a strike rate of 163.61 and is expected to get a maiden call for the T20I squad as well.
