'He's tough as nails': Ravi Shastri picks 3 Indian players to make late push for ODI WC

Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of the Indian cricket team, has identified Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, and Tilak Varma as potential contenders for the ODI World Cup squad this year. These players have delivered impressive performances in the ongoing IPL, catching Shastri's attention. Jaiswal, an opener for the Rajasthan Royals, has amassed 575 runs in the IPL 2023, including the fastest fifty in the tournament's history.

Rinku Singh has emerged as Kolkata Knight Riders' new finisher, showcasing his power-hitting skills with five consecutive sixes to secure a victory against Gujarat Titans last month. Meanwhile, Tilak Varma, playing for Mumbai Indians, has shown versatility in his batting roles. Despite missing a few games, he has scored 274 runs for the team. Shastri praised Jaiswal and Rinku for their improvement and commended their work ethic, hunger, passion, and drive to succeed.

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Ravi Shastri: These are the guys who can push for selection

In the latest episode of ICC Review, Ravi Shastri highlighted their challenging backgrounds and described them as tough individuals who have overcome obstacles to reach their current level. Shastri expressed his belief that depending on their form leading up to the tournament, Jaiswal, Rinku, and Tilak could potentially make a late surge to secure a place in the ODI World Cup squad for India.

"One is (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, simply because of the way he's played this season. And for me, it is a marked improvement from what I saw from him last year, which is a very, very positive sign. It shows that there's a young guy prepared to work on his game, sort out things, and get a more all-round game into play and he's done that this season. Just the power with which he's re-taking shots. Just the pockets he's hitting around the ground as opposed to last year is very good," Shastri said. 

"The other bloke is Rinku Singh, which is a great story. The more I see of him, the guy has got a fabulous temperament. He's tough as nails. Both of these guys have come through very hard backgrounds. They've worked very hard initially in their lives and nothing's come easy for them. So you can see that hunger, that passion, that drive that is so needed to make it to the top," he added. 

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"As far as batting goes, there's Tilak Varma, there's Jitesh Sharma from Punjab (Kings) too who is a wicket-keeper-batter who's pretty dangerous and has stood out. There's even Sai Sudarshan, a left-hander (who has also caught the eye). But I would put Tilak Varma, I would put Jaiswal, I'd put Rinku Singh. (They) are the candidates who can really push through along with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who's been around for a while. These are the guys who can push for selection, depending on their form closer to the World Cup. And depending on injuries. If there are injuries to any key players, then these guys can come straight away into the mix," Shastri said. 

Image: PTI