Wasim Jaffer urges Yashasvi Jaiswal to focus on batting, questions wicket-keeping move

Yashasvi Jaiswal is set to feature in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener against Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. | Photo Credit: R V Moorthy

Former India opener and Mumbai batting legend Wasim Jaffer has questioned Yashasvi Jaiswal’s decision to take up wicket-keeping role at the age of 24, saying the Test opener should instead focus on his batting.

Mumbai captain Siddhesh Lad on Thursday had said that Jaiswal has been working on wicket-keeping as a back-up skill to batting and leg-spin, with pictures of him putting in the hard yards behind the stumps surfacing ahead of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season.

“I myself was surprised when I heard this. It is very difficult if you have not kept wickets since childhood. First of all, it is a very demanding job. Apart from that, where is that place even if he starts? There are Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Rishabh Pant. I am sure he wants to do it in white-ball cricket,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.

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Jaffer said wicket-keeping in Test cricket is a demanding job and insisted that Jaiswal would find it difficult to adapt without a sound foundation in the role. The record Ranji Trophy run-scorer, instead, urged Jaiswal to focus on his batting ahead of India’s tour of New Zealand next month.

Jaffer felt Jaiswal could struggle to take up wicket-keeping in Test cricket without having developed the skill from a young age and advised the batter to concentrate on his primary strength ahead of the New Zealand tour next month.

“It is very difficult in Test cricket. But I feel this is a bit of a joke because wicket-keeping is not an easy task if you have not done it since childhood. It is not an easy skill that you can develop very quickly,” Jaffer said.

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“I think he is getting a little desperate to get into the white-ball teams. I think he needs to focus on his batting ahead of the Ranji Trophy and the New Zealand tour.”

Jaiswal is set to feature in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener against Chandigarh at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, but will miss the team’s subsequent fixture due to national commitments. He is also understood to have kept wickets for around 10 overs in one of Mumbai’s practice matches ahead of the domestic season.