Mohammad Kaif interview: Yashasvi Jaiswal has an X-factor about his batting, he will take over, says former India batter

India will be without two of their superstars in the white-ball legs of the upcoming tour of South Africa, with skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opting to take an extended break from limited-overs cricket after a gruelling ICC World Cup campaign. The question then arises as to what India’s top-order for the three T20Is and as many ODIs starting 10 December will be like. And that question isn’t necessarily limited to the South Africa tour alone. Both Rohit and Kohli are past the age of 35, and sooner rather than later the team management and selectors will start having some long-term conversations. Also read: Five India youngsters who are leading the race for T20 World Cup spots in final squad Conversations regarding youngsters who could succeed them in their roles as opener and No 3 respectively once the two stalwarts decide to hang up their boots or get selective about the formats that they play. Rohit and Kohli haven’t represented India in the shortest format since last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia and some section of the Indian cricketing fraternity expect them to take a call on playing the 50-over format despite a brilliant run in the recently-concluded showpiece event. Speaking exclusively to Firstpost on the sidelines of the 2023 Legends League Cricket (LLC), former India batter Mohammad Kaif felt Yashasvi Jaiswal is someone who not only will be a perfect fit in the absence of the two stalwarts in South Africa but can also be the next big Indian top-order batter down the road. “I’m very impressed with lots of players. Gaikwad has been playing well. Jaiswal is ready, he will take over. Because I’ve seen him in the IPL and I’ve seen him in domestic cricket. I judge a player by his Ranji form, how he plays in four-day matches, then different leagues. IPL is the toughest league in the world and he’s dominating over there,” said Kaif, who represents the Manipal Tigers franchise that has qualified for the LLC 2023 playoffs to be played in Surat. Jaiswal has been on roaring form ever since he made his international debut in the tour of the Caribbean, scoring 171 in the first Test against West Indies in Roseau and finishing the leading run-getter in the two-Test series, ahead of skipper Rohit and Kohli. The southpaw first stepped into the limelight during the 2020 U-19 World Cup and had a prolific season with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023 with 625 runs. More recently, he’s been impressive in the T20I series against Australia as well, smashing a 25-ball 53 in Thiruvananthapuram and getting the team off to fast starts that certainly will have pushed him higher up the pecking order in the white-ball formats. Kaif added that there was an “x-factor” to Jaiswal while praising his skills with the bat. “Jaiswal has done really well and his First-Class record is stellar. Gaikwad’s also in the line. There are a lot more such as Ishan Kishan. Axar Patel has been really good since coming back from an injury. But I’ll make special mention of Jaiswal as there is an X-factor about his batting,” Kaif, who had represented the Royals in the first two editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), added. Kaif has been making headlines of late for his comments on India being the “best team on paper” in the ICC World Cup despite finishing runners-up following a six-wicket defeat against Australia in the final. Australia opener David Warner is among those who responded to Kaif’s comments, which have since blown up on social media and invited plenty of reactions from netizens along with a bit of trolling. The 43-year-old, however, stood by his comment despite all the reactions and maintained that India, who won 10 matches in a row in dominant fashion only to fall short in the final hurdle yet again in an ICC event, were in a league of their own. “That’s why I made this comment because compared to Australia, I saw lots of match-winners in the team, lots of positives from the very beginning. If you talk about number one to number eleven, we had all the match-winners in great form. I meet people around and they are very disappointed because they could see India win the trophy at Ahmedabad. And it wasn’t like it was a fluke. They actually played well throughout from the opening game till the last match. None of the matches were close affairs for that matter. “Rohit Sharma has been fantastic as a leader. I think he did a great job with the team, and Rahul Dravid behind the scenes, doing a great job with the boys. I think Rohit should get lots of credit as a captain because he led from the front,” Kaif added. Kaif was also effusive in his praise for Rohit for the way he led the team in what was the biggest assignment of his career as captain so far. The ‘Hitman’ led from the front, smashing 597 runs throughout the tournament with a majority of his runs coming in quick fashion during the powerplay. As skipper, he nearly joined an elite club of World-Cup winning captains that only has Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni as the only Indians. “He (Rohit) is hundred per cent committed towards his job, and he has been leading for last many years. Not just India but also in the IPL with Mumbai Indians. IPL isn’t an easy tournament either, it’s the toughest league in the world. To win it five times, that means you have it in you as a leader. “The way he’s managed the players, and the manner in which he managed without a sixth bowling option and an eighth batting option after Hardik Pandya’s injury, he does deserve a lot of credit. As a leader, the way he batted in the powerplay. It was free-flowing batting, he wasn’t playing for any milestone. He wanted to set the tone for the rest of the innings. His batting was first-class and as a captain he was fantastic,” added Kaif. Dravid understood how to be successful as India coach: Kaif The BCCI meanwhile, has opted to extend former India captain Rahul Dravid’s tenure as head coach of the Indian team, presumably till next year’s T20 World Cup that takes place in the Caribbean and the United States. And it’s not just Dravid whose tenure has been extended — the entire coaching staff will also continue in their respective roles after the World Cup. Dravid has formed a successful captain-coaching pairing with Rohit, with the two masterminding India’s dominant Asia Cup 2023 campaign and nearly winning the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship besides reaching the semi-finals of last year’s T20 World Cup. As per Kaif, who had shared the dressing room with the batting legend for the better part of the 2000s, Dravid has taken a leaf out of 2011 World Cup-winning India coach Gary Kirsten’s book which has led to success as coach with the senior team “What Dravid learned working with Rohit is how to function as a coach and gel with the team in the Indian system. Gary Kirsten had done a superb job during 2011 working with MS Dhoni back when they were coach and captain respectively. Kirsten realised that in India, you had to keep the captain at the forefront. Dhoni is the leader, he’ll be on the field. All the tactical movements and planning is done by the captain on the ground. “No matter how many meetings you conduct, the coach cannot be part of the action at the centre. It’s the captain who has to take care of everything going on at the centre. That Dravid understood, that Rohit has to be in the spotlight, senior players have to be at the forefront. In the Indian culture, this is what brings you success,” Kaif said. Kaif also made mention of Greg Chappell and his run as India coach that ended on an unhappy note with a first-round exit in the 2007 ICC World Cup in the Caribbean. Dravid was the captain of the team around that time and Kaif felt he had learned what not to do as coach by observing Chappell’s behaviour. “Greg Chappell wasn’t able to do that back when he was coach of the Indian team. He wanted to be the face, that I’ll stay in the limelight and that Sachin and everyone else should stand behind him and follow him. That attitude doesn’t work in India. Dravid learned from that experience working with coach Chappell back when he was India captain. From those learnings, along with his coaching stints in the IPL, he understood how to be successful as a coach in the Indian system,” Kaif concluded.