India’s coaching group left Johannesburg in good spirits on Saturday, not just because of a nine-wicket win, but because Yashasvi Jaiswal finally has an ODI hundred to his name. The 23-year-old opener, already established in the Test side, is only four matches into his 50-over career yet now joins Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and three others as Indians with centuries in all three international formats.
“In [the] one-day format, you need to know the template you want to play,” head coach Gautam Gambhir said afterwards. “When you come into white-ball cricket from red-ball cricket, you think you have to bat aggressively. But you don’t need to bat aggressively in one-day cricket, because you can split it into 30 overs and 20 overs … The moment he figures out which tempo he needs to bat in one-day cricket, the sky is the limit.”
Those 30 overs Gambhir refers to were dealt with calmly by Jaiswal. Sharing 155 with Rohit Sharma and then an unbroken 116 with Kohli, he finished on 121* and made South Africa’s 191 look distinctly light. The surface offered gentle pace, yet the shot selection – fluency early, acceleration late – suggested a player learning quickly.
Balanced selection picture
Ruturaj Gaikwad, another fringe player, struck 118 earlier in the series from an unfamiliar No 4 slot. Gambhir praised the adaptability: “Someone like Rutu, who’s batted out of position… He’s a quality player, we all know. We wanted to give him an opportunity in this series because of the kind of form he was in with India A. And he actually grabbed that opportunity with both hands.”
Both Gaikwad and Jaiswal may soon make way. Regular captain–opener Shubman Gill has recovered from a finger problem in time for the T20Is, and Shreyas Iyer is close to overcoming a freak spleen injury. Gambhir was clear about the pecking order: “Look, we try and give [new players] opportunities wherever we can. Because we still want a reasonable group… probably around 20-25 players in that group before the World Cup. But once your captain and vice-captain is back, obviously they are your starters.”
The message to reserves was equally direct. “And more importantly, I think they need to keep themselves motivated because they should be ready whenever they get that opportunity.”
Depth with the ball – and the bat
India’s ODI plan, much discussed since the last World Cup, is to extend batting depth without weakening the seam attack. Harshit Rana, capable of touching 140 kph and striking cleanly down the order, has emerged as a prototype No 8. “That’s one of the reasons why we are trying to probably develop someone like Harshit, who can actually bat at 8 and contribute with a bat at No. 8,” Gambhir said.
Washington Sundar continues to hold the spinning all-rounder role. Coaches value his ability to bowl in the powerplay, then switch to middle-overs off-spin while still offering runs at No 7. The combination of one pace-bowling all-rounder and one spin-bowling all-rounder is the balance India chased in 2023; they appear determined not to abandon it now.
Analysis: template talk
Gambhir’s recurring word – “template” – is telling. India have depth of talent, yet remain keen to lock players into defined roles rather than improvise later. For Jaiswal, that means 30-over stability followed by 20-over flair; for Gaikwad, it is middle-order accumulation; for Rana, late-over hitting plus tidy seam bowling. Whether this clarity survives when the senior names return will be the next test.
Still, the immediate take-away is encouraging: depth options have shown they belong, a young opener has removed one more box from his to-do list, and India, for once, leave a short bilateral tour with more answers than questions.
