Looks like Yashasvi Jaiswal is part of some greater plan; the idea cannot be more emphatic than what has been revealed by the men in blue think tank over the week gone by; and one has to look here, per se, Ajit Agarkar, the chair of the national selection committee.

The former India allrounder and the head coach Gautam Gambhir have stuck their neck out to bring the Mumbai left-hander, now a whiz-bang Test opener, into the World Cup scheme of things.

The quadrennial 50-over World Cup is going to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia two years later (October-November 2027) and Agarkar and his committee and Gambhir, a World Cup winner in 2011, believe that a virtuoso like Jaiswal cannot be kept in the sidelines for too long.

Shubman Gill's freak neck injury (he suffered during the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens) and rib-cage injury to Shreyas Iyer enabled Gambhir and Agarkar to add Jaiswal and Gaikwad to the basket already brimming with talent.
Recently, Gill was brought back into the ODI squad as captain for the short series in Australia. It was a clear indication that those driving the team selection wanted to groom Gill for the World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere. Apart from Jaiswal, the selection committee also recalled Gaikwad - after a gap of two years - as a back-up for Iyer.
All this means that the daredevil like Abhishek Sharma - not a hotspur- has to wait in the wings for a couple of more years to get a nod for any other format other than the Twenty20. On this count, Tilak Varma has been lucky; he is in the squad and may get a chance only should Gaikwad stacks up a chain of single-digit scores.

Once Gill's neck spasm required time to heal, the swashbuckling Jaiswal was fitted in as a partner to Rohit Sharma. After his ODI debut against England at Nagpur in February, Jaiswal got a chance after ten months to open the innings in an ODI. He made 18 of 16 balls at Ranchi before falling to left-arm fast bowler Nandre Burger and 22 off 38 balls at Raipur before throwing it away to Marco Jansen, a proficient and versatile left-hand fast bowler.

Jaiswal tried the ruthless cut and dry method in the first two matches, but figured out a way to knock his first century - an unbeaten 116 off 121 balls with 12 x 4s and 2 x 6s - in the third and final outing in the seaport city of Vishakapatnam. It was only his fourth match for the men in blue in the 50-over format. He was declared the man of the match.
Gambhir was mightily pleased with Jaiswal's approach at the start of the innings, biding time in the 300-ball game. The coach has also indicated that he will find ways to retain Jaiswal and Gaikwad when Gill (against New Zealand in January 2026) and Iyer return to the squad. Iyer has chosen to stay away from red-ball cricket, and he's not part of the Twenty20 game plan.
Jaiswal - set to turn 24 on December 28 - now has a century across formats, but more significantly, he is now in the category "definite" for the big show in South Africa two years afterwards. With Rohit Sharma being among the runs in a big way (against Australia and South Africa) Gill - once he returns for the first ODI against New Zealand at Baroda (followed by Rajkot and Indore) - and Gambhir will have a task in hand to fit in Jaiswal - who has now got the monkey of his back so quickly in the 50-over format with a match winning unconquered century in his fourth match.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was also remarkably refreshing. The injury to Iyer paved his recall after two years. His scores against South Africa 'A' as an opener - he made 117, 68, 25 - impressed the selection committee to bring him back into the ODI squad. The Maharashtra right-hander did not have a good start at Ranchi, sent back by Dewald Brevis's outstanding catch at point.
Slotted in at No. 4 - not his position in limited over matches - Gaikwad ought to have been under pressure at Raipur. He received a nasty first ball, but once he settled down, shots flew off his bat to set the pulse racing.

The presence of Virat Kohli helped him, but the anxious batter himself took charge of the proceedings after the fall of Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma. The flat track at Raipur offered an opportunity for Gaikwad to play shots with assurance. He and Kohli rattled off 195 for the third wicket, an effort that helped India post 358.

India lost the match, but Gaikwad's splendid effort has compelled the selection committee not to overlook him anymore. He did not get a chance to bat at Visakhapatnam, where the home team won by nine wickets.

Since the start of 2021, Iyer has been India's highest run getter at No. 4 with 1436 runs at 53.19 in 52 matches, with a strike rate of 5.89. K.L. Rahul follows him with 506, Rishabh Pant with 346 and Ishan Kishan with 139 in 27 matches. Gaikwad has joined the list with a sparkling century.
The selection committee need to be commended for their decision to call upon Jaiswal and Gaikwad for the three-match series against South Africa, which was without fast bowler Kagiso Rabada (for the full series) because of a bruised rib cage and Burger for the last ODI at Visakhapatnam. But Jaiswal and Gaikwad, it can be said thundered in a series in which the focus was trained on Rohit Sharma and Kohli. India has options aplenty with two full seasons to go before the World Cup arrives.