'Visa, tickets already done': Sehwag's stamp of approval for India star's T20 WC hopes despite early IPL 2024 struggles

Team India will return to action with the T20 World Cup in June, and speculations are rife over the potential players who could make the 15-member squad for the marquee tournament. This year's Indian Premier League (IPL) holds major significance for India's squad selection, but one of the players who had a struggling start to the season was Rajasthan Royals' star youngster, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Fresh from an incredible outing in the Test series against England – where he scored over 700 runs across five matches – Jaiswal was touted to resume his blistering form in the shortest format, too. However, the left-handed opener struggled to get the starts, failing to breach the fifty-run mark across his first seven innings in the season. In fact, his highest score after the halfway mark in RR's season was 39.

However, he ended his run-scoring drought earlier this week during the side's match against the Mumbai Indians, smashing a blistering unbeaten century to steer the Royals to a nine-wicket win in Jaipur. Jaiswal is among the contenders for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad but faces some competition from the likes of Shubman Gill and even Virat Kohli for the second opening spot.

Virender Sehwag, the former India opener, believes that despite the rough patch, Jaiswal should be assured of his spot in the squad. Talking about the pressure of comparisons – Jaiswal has been compared with Sehwag on multiple occasions – the former India opener spoke on how he dealt with similar comparisons, and advised the young opener to focus on his game amid the struggles.

“See, even I was compared with Sachin Tendulkar during my early days. But the sooner you keep it out of your mind, the better. I don't think Yashasvi Jaiswal thinks too much about being compared with me. Comparison can hurt you. I can't perform like Tendulkar. Let Sehwag be Sehwag. You know the most about your game, focus on working on that,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

“I don't believe in comparisons. When I was compared, I made some changes in stance and how I played, so people stop saying that I look or bat like Tendulkar. The tag of comparison comes with immense pressure. I have high hopes for his boy. When you come from a small city, uou know you have to put the hard work otherwise you might have to go back. He will come back to form soon. I believe his ticket and visa for the World Cup is confirmed,” Sehwag further said.

RR at top

The Royals are comfortably at the top of the IPL 2024 table with seven wins in eight matches. They are four points ahead of the next best side in the season, Kolkata Knight Riders. 

With Jaiswal returning to run-scoring, RR become a potent batting force with Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, and captain Sanju Samson, all in great run-scoring form.