Jaiswal wants to keep wickets for Mumbai or go on to do it for India

Why is Yashasvi Jaiswal trying his hand at wicketkeeping? The India Test opener seems serious about his glovework. This revelation came from Mumbai Ranji skipper Siddesh Lad, with Jaiswal even posting a picture of himself wearing wicketkeeping gloves on his social media account.

"With Yashasvi, I feel he is trying hard to start keeping wickets. That's what I heard from him. He wants to keep wickets for Mumbai or go on to keep wickets for the Indian team. That's what he is aiming for. I haven't got any clarity on that," Lad, the veteran Mumbai batter, leading the side this season, said at a pre-season interaction on Thursday.

Jaiswal, a regular opener in India's Test side, has been struggling to get into the white-ball team - be it the One-Day Internationals or T20Is. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill at the top, there is no place for him in the ODI squad. In T20Is, there is hardly any vacancy, with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opening the innings and teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings.

"Maybe he wants to add value to his core strength - that is batting. He kept wickets in one of our practice matches. I don't have any idea what his plans are but adding a new dimension to your core cricketing skills is not bad. Who knows when and where a chance would arise. He does batting anyway and keeping can add value to his cricket," Lad told Cricbuzz after the media interaction.

The Mumbai captain reflected on the pressure of being a powerhouse in domestic cricket and the need to embrace it rather than run away from it. "Given Mumbai's rich history, the 42 Ranji Trophy titles we have won and the legacy of players who have represented the team, there will always be pressure when you wear the Mumbai jersey. But as a unit, we want to embrace that pressure rather than run away from it. We understand the history and culture that come with representing Mumbai, and we are looking forward to the season," Lad said.

Alongside Lad at the media conference was Ayush Mhatre, the vice-captain of the Mumbai side, who said he learnt valuable lessons in leadership and captaincy from MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings. Mhatre, who led India at the Under-19 World Cup, is an opener for the Chennai franchise.

"He always tells me that you should be calm on the field, and some decisions we take in aggressive mode are not the right decisions to take. We will be in the aggressive mode for only five minutes. So stay calm on the field and take decisions in a calm mode. So it will be helpful for you. So it helped me in the World Cup also. So I just try to be calm on the field," the youngster said.

Mumbai take on Chandigarh in their season opener at the Wankhede from October 11.