Irfan Pathan urges more ODI opportunities for Yashasvi Jaiswal

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has urged the team management to give Yashasvi Jaiswal regular ODI opportunities ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Pathan said Jaiswal is India's third-choice opener and needs consistent game time to avoid entering the World Cup short of match practice. India face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series beginning September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Jaiswal has played six ODIs in three years and scored 285 runs at an average of 71.25, including two centuries. Pathan said the series offers a chance to test several players with Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar away at the Asian Games. Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi and Nitish Kumar Reddy have earned call-ups for the series.

Pathan noted the team can afford to experiment against the West Indies and called the overlapping schedules a blessing in disguise for young players.