Kotak Says It's 'Not Unfair' to Bench Jaiswal. His Average of 71 Disagrees.

Yashasvi Jaiswal averages 71.25 in ODI cricket. He has two centuries in six innings. He's 24 years old, physically indestructible, and the most naturally gifted opening batter India have produced since Rohit Sharma himself. He walked into the practice nets in Thiruvananthapuram this week looking, by all accounts, like a man in the form of his life.

And then India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak stood before reporters on Friday and, with the practiced diplomacy of a man who knows exactly what he's doing, told Jaiswal to wait.

"It is not that somebody has been unfair to him," Kotak said. "He should keep working hard and waiting for the opportunity."

Keep working hard. Average 71 in international cricket and keep working hard. Score an unbeaten century against Afghanistan and then get dropped for the England tour and keep working hard. Watch two 37-year-olds open the batting ahead of you in a World Cup preparation cycle and keep working hard.

At some point, working hard stops being the problem.

Let's be specific about what India are benching.

Jaiswal made his ODI debut against England in February 2025. In the 19 months since, he's played precisely six ODIs. Six. In a format where India have played more than twenty. His strike rate is aggressive, his technique against pace is elite, and his two centuries — 116 not out against South Africa and 110 not out against Afghanistan — came in situations where India needed exactly the kind of innings he delivered.

The 110 not out against Afghanistan was particularly telling. It was the third ODI in June 2026, a dead rubber where India rested several regulars and gave Jaiswal the opening slot. He responded with a masterclass: controlled aggression, clean boundaries through the off-side, and a maturity that belied his 24 years. He finished unbeaten. India won comfortably.

Then the England tour squad was announced. Jaiswal wasn't in it.

That's the bit that makes Kotak's framing difficult to defend. You can talk about competition and maintaining standards and looking after his mindset. But when a player scores an unbeaten century in his last ODI and then gets dropped from the next squad entirely, the message isn't "wait for your opportunity." The message is: the opportunity doesn't matter.

To his credit, Kotak didn't entirely dodge the tension. When pressed on why Jaiswal wasn't getting more games, he offered something unexpectedly honest.

"There is a very thin line between trying new players and trying to get the results," he said. "It's the captain and head coach's job to give opportunities, but at the same time, we have to see that we get the desired results also."

There it is. The quiet admission that India are choosing short-term results over long-term investment. In a series against the tenth-ranked ODI side. In their own backyard. With thirteen months before a World Cup where they'll need every batter to have logged serious game time.

The irony is that Jaiswal's numbers suggest he does deliver results. An average of 71 is not potential. It's not promise. It's production. The idea that playing him would somehow compromise India's results against West Indies is a position that requires you to believe the numbers are lying.

Nobody is questioning Rohit Sharma's greatness. The man has 11,895 ODI runs, three double centuries, and a record that will probably never be matched. Nobody is questioning Kohli's right to chase 15,000 ODI runs — a milestone only Sachin Tendulkar has reached.

But there is a difference between respecting legends and building your team around them thirteen months before a World Cup on fast South African pitches. Rohit turns 40 before the 2027 tournament. Kohli turns 39 midway through it. Both are playing ODI cricket exclusively now — no Tests, no T20Is. Their bodies and reflexes are not getting faster.

The question isn't whether Rohit and Kohli deserve spots. It's whether India can afford to have a 24-year-old averaging 71 sit on the bench while they find out if two 37-year-olds still have the legs for another 30 ODIs.

Kotak's answer, effectively, is yes. India can afford it. The competition is fierce. The process is working. Just wait.

The 2023 ODI World Cup at home provided a cautionary tale. India went unbeaten through the group stages with a settled top three of Rohit, Gill, and Kohli. In the final against Australia, they collapsed. The settled combination didn't survive the one game that mattered most. A year later, the same question that haunted them then haunts them now: was the team built to peak, or built to be comfortable?

Kotak's press conference wasn't just about Jaiswal. He also confirmed that Ravindra Jadeja — back in the ODI setup after eight months — is "obviously in the mix" for the World Cup. The 37-year-old allrounder hasn't played an ODI since January, but Kotak framed it as a feature, not a bug.

"Experience is something you cannot beat," he said. "Like we see Rohit, we see Virat, we see Jadeja."

Experience you cannot beat. Three players in their late thirties. A young batter averaging 71 told to wait. An allrounder who hasn't bowled an ODI delivery in eight months declared to be "obviously in the mix."

India aren't preparing for a World Cup. They're curating a reunion tour.

The cruelest part of Jaiswal's situation is that he doesn't have leverage. He can't demand selection. He can't force his way in by scoring runs he isn't given the chance to score. He can dominate domestic cricket, light up the IPL, score centuries when India hand him dead rubbers — and still be told to wait.

The precedent is not kind. India have a history of finding space for young talent only after the veterans retire. Rohit himself waited years behind Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Kohli batted at No. 3 and waited for Tendulkar to finish. The system works — eventually. But it also burns through the prime years of exceptional players who happened to arrive at the wrong time.

Jaiswal is 24. He'll be 25 at the World Cup. His best ODI years are happening right now, and India are spending them on the bench of a series against the tenth-ranked team in the world.

Kotak says it's "not unfair." The numbers say otherwise. And in thirteen months, when India arrive in South Africa needing every batter match-hardened and battle-ready, they might wish they'd listened to the numbers a little sooner.