Virat Kohli with Yashasvi Jaiswal during IND vs SA ODI in Visakhapatnam. PC- AFP
The BCCI recently picked a strong 15-member ODI squad for the England tour, marking a return for Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been dropped despite doing well against Afghanistan.
The Mumbai-born opener was included in the Indian squad after Kohli was ruled out due to a hamstring injury. Jaiswal used the opportunity to the fullest as he scored his second ODI century at Chennai.
Despite that, the stylish left-hander has to vacate the spot for the legend of the sport, Kohli, who is nearing the 15,000-run mark in the ODI format.
AB de Villiers sympathises with Yashasvi Jaiswal for losing place to King Virat Kohli
While sympathising with Yashasvi Jaiswal but backing his dearest Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers has talked about the Indian ODI squad picked for England tour.
De Villiers, who himself scored 9577 runs in ODIs, called the current selection a tough call with respect to Jaiswal. However, he further mentioned that players have to make way for King Kohli.
Also Read: Yashasvi Jaiswal Latest Casualty: Players Dropped From India's ODI Squad After Scoring A Hundred
The former RCB legend talked about Kohli's recent form in the IPL 2026, where he racked up 675 runs during Bengaluru's record-breaking title-winning campaign before getting injured in the IPL final vs GT.
"Virat Kohli back. Little bit of a tough one on Jaiswal, who was back in Virat's place, scoring the hundred and now he's got to make way. No complaints there but it just a little bit harsh on players sometimes when your King comes back, when the main players come back, there is a process they are looking at. So truly makes sense for Virat to step in there and make sure he maintains the kind of form he showed in the IPL," AB de Villiers stated on his YouTube Channel.
AB de Villiers on India's musical chairs for keepers' selection
Furthermore, the former South African wicketkeeper batter AB de Villiers also talked about the ongoing musical chair in India's ODI setup.
With plenty of options, the Men in Blue can only accommodate just two wicketkeepers in the 15-men squad. KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan are currently enjoying the backing of the selectors. However, before that, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant were also in line.
"Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul the two top wicket-keepers. The big thing there is no Pant, no Samson. Samson must have been close, closer than Pant, as he had a really good IPL but also prior to that, showing signs of form. Not a lot of surprises there but just for Samson, I feel he was close," AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
Notably, Pant was a part of the Indian squad that won the Champions Trophy 2025. Whereas there were talks around around Samson especially after his Player of the Tournament performance in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Team India will begin their UK tour, with the first of the two T20Is against Ireland on Friday. After that, the caravan will move to England for five T20Is and three much-awaited ODIs.
The much-awaited series will kickstart on July 14 at Edgbaston, before the second and third ODIs are scheduled for July 16 and 19, respectively.
India ODI squad for England ODIs
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (subject to fitness), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar.
Also Read: Why New Zealand Players Are Wearing Black Armbands On Day 1 of 3rd Test vs England?
.jpg?type=mq "Why Are New Zealand Players Wearing Black Armband?")
.jpg?type=mq "IND-W vs BAN-W Head To Head")
