India Picked an Unfit Kohli Over a Century-Scoring Jaiswal — That Tells You Everything

On Saturday, June 20, Yashasvi Jaiswal walked off the field at Chepauk with 110 not out against Afghanistan — his second ODI century in just six innings, the fastest any Indian has ever reached that milestone. He'd broken Shikhar Dhawan's 13-year-old record. He'd put on 170 with Rohit Sharma in a chase that lasted less than 29 overs. He was 24 years old and undeniable.

On Sunday, June 21, the BCCI announced India's 15-man ODI squad for the tour of England. Jaiswal wasn't in it.

Instead, the selectors named Virat Kohli — who hasn't played a competitive match since tearing his hamstring in the IPL final on May 31 and hasn't been cleared by the BCCI's own Centre of Excellence. Kohli's inclusion comes with an asterisk so large it could double as a disclaimer: 'subject to fitness clearance.' The fitness test was scheduled for June 22. If he fails it, the BCCI will add Jaiswal back. Like a spare tyre.

The logic, as the BCCI would have you believe, is straightforward: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are the first-choice opening pair. Kohli bats three. Jaiswal was only called up for the Afghanistan series because Kohli was injured. Now Kohli returns, and the natural order is restored.

Except nothing about this is natural. Rohit is 39 in April. He has retired from T20Is and Tests. He is playing exclusively in ODIs — a format where he no longer captains. Kohli has a semimembranosus tendon tear from a match played three weeks ago and hasn't touched a cricket bat since. The selectors have chosen a man who can't walk without discomfort over a man who just scored 110 not out without breaking a sweat.

Jaiswal's ODI record after six innings: two centuries, average of 87.50, strike rate north of 110. Those aren't backup-opener numbers. Those are franchise-player numbers. But in Indian cricket, the franchise already has tenants, and their names are on 20-year leases.

Buried beneath the Jaiswal outrage is a quieter, sadder omission. Ravindra Jadeja — 210 ODIs, 232 wickets, 2,905 runs, three World Cup campaigns — is not in the squad. Again. He wasn't picked for the Afghanistan series either. Washington Sundar continues as the preferred spin-bowling all-rounder, and the selectors haven't publicly stated whether Jadeja is injured, rested, or simply done.

He retired from T20Is alongside Rohit and Kohli after the 2024 World Cup triumph. He hasn't made any announcement about ODIs. But the selectors have made one for him — silently, through repeated omission, without the courtesy of a public explanation. For a player who won India the 2023 World Cup semi-final with a match-defining spell of 2/17 against New Zealand, this is a remarkably undignified exit.

Add Hardik Pandya to the list — ruled out of the England series with injury — and India's 2023 World Cup all-round spine of Jadeja-Pandya is functionally extinct in ODI cricket. The rebuild is real. The communication about it is not.

There is one genuinely exciting element in this squad: Jasprit Bumrah is back in ODIs for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final. That's nearly three years between ODI appearances for India's greatest fast bowler, a gap that speaks volumes about the BCCI's workload management paranoia and the sheer number of formats, franchises, and bilateral series competing for his body.

Bumrah's return, alongside Prasidh Krishna (who took 5/23 in the Afghanistan series closer), Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh, gives India a pace attack that could genuinely trouble England in home conditions. Gurnoor Brar, the Punjab seamer who impressed against Afghanistan, keeps his place too — a rare case of a fringe performer actually being rewarded for results.

The stated objective of this squad is to prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa. That's the lens through which you're supposed to view every decision — the youth of Gill, the energy of Nitish Kumar Reddy, the pace depth, the spin options without Jadeja.

But look at the top order: Rohit (will be 40 by the 2027 World Cup), Kohli (will be 38), and a captain in Gill who is 26 and genuinely part of the future. Two out of three members of India's preferred top three are players whose international careers are measured in months, not years. You don't build for 2027 by picking 2023's batting order and hoping it holds together.

Jaiswal is 24. He has two centuries in six ODI innings. He averages 87.50 in the format. He is the single most obvious candidate to inherit either opening slot. And the message the selectors have sent him is unmistakable: wait your turn. Your turn comes when the legends decide it does. Or when their hamstrings do.

Indian cricket has always struggled with generational transitions. Sachin Tendulkar played his last ODI at 40. MS Dhoni held on until the 2019 World Cup semi-final defeat forced a reckoning. Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh lingered years past their peak because no selector wanted to be the one to make the call.

The Jaiswal situation is the latest iteration of the same institutional paralysis. The data screams 'play him.' The talent screams 'play him.' The six-innings, two-century record screams 'play him.' But the hierarchy whispers 'not yet,' and in Indian cricket, hierarchy always wins.

If Kohli passes his fitness test and plays all three ODIs in England, Jaiswal sits at home watching. If Kohli fails, Jaiswal gets a phone call. Either way, the message is the same: you are not the plan. You are the contingency. Even when you are, statistically, the best option available.