'Dream is to play T20 World Cup': Yashasvi Jaiswal opens up about his future goals

New Delhi: Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his maiden ODI century in the third game against South Africa in Vizag, becoming only the sixth Indian batter to hit tons across all three formats of the game.

The Mumbai batter has already cemented his place in India's red-ball team after making his debut in the longest format in 2023 against the West Indies. Jaiswal is currently averaging 49.24 after scoring 2511 runs in 28 Test matches, notching up seven hundreds and 13 fifties.

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He is aiming to play the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, and is set to begin on February 7. The left-handed batter has scored 723 runs in 23 T20I matches at a strike rate of 164.32, hitting one hundred and five half-centuries.

"My dream is to play the T20 World Cup, but I try to focus on my game and will wait for my time," Jaiswal said on Agenda AajTak.

The captaincy role in the Indian team is quite clear at the moment, with Shubman Gill leading the ODI and Test side, while Suryakumar Yadav captaining the T20I team. But the opportunity may arise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he plays for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), after skipper Sanju Samson traded to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

"Yes, if I get a chance, I would like to lead India," said Jaiswal.

Former India captains like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli started their captaincy stints in the IPL, and Jaiswal have a chance to follow their footsteps. The opening batter got the opportunity to play all three ODI games against South Africa after Shubman Gill missed the series due to an injury, which he sustained in the first Test at Eden Gardens.

He managed to score just 40 runs in the first two matches, but showed his class in the series-decider. Jaiswal smashed 116 runs off 121 balls, smashing 12 boundaries and two maximums.