Last night, the 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal created history by scoring the fastest 50 in the history of the IPL (13 balls) and the second-fastest half-century in the history of the T20 format, following the footsteps of Yuvraj Singh, another legendary left-hand bat.
Yashasvi’s hunger and grit-laden journey is the story of the IPL, where dreamers who do, can turn their ambitious fantasies into reality.
A young boy who grows up in poverty in the state of Uttar Pradesh, moves to Mumbai to chase his dreams; sells pani puris by day and sleeps in a crowded tent at Azad Maidan to sustain himself and fuel his dreams.
With sheer passion, determination and sweat from his arduous practice sessions, Lady Luck ensured that his hard work was regularly introduced with opportunities ~ be it coming under the wings of Jwala Singh, his coach, or eventually being picked for age-group cricket on the Mumbai circuit.
Also Read: Sensational Jaiswal and Record-Breaking Chahal Push KKR to the Exit
And the young boy capitalised on it with steady resolve and patience, and made a feast of everything that’s come his way:
- Scored 319 not out and took 13-99 in Giles Shield cricket, an all-round record in school cricket
- Highest run scorer (318 runs) in the U-19 Asia Cup in 2018 , when he won the player of the tournament and helped India win the trophy.
- Highest scorer & Player of the Series at the U19 World Cup in 2020 with 400 runs at an average of 133.33, including a century and four fifties.
- Piled on 173 off 220 balls in a Youth Test against South Africa, where the opposition was bowled out for a mere 152
- Youngest double-centurion in List A cricket when he scored 203 against Jharkhand in 2019, at the age of 17 years and 292 days
- Smashed a double-ton on his Duleep Trophy debut, when he scored a blistering 265 to help West Zone win against South Zone in September 2022.
- In the process, he became the joint-fastest Indian to cross 1000 runs in first-class cricket, alongside greats like Rusi Modi and Amol Muzumdar.
- He slammed 146 on his India A debut against Bangladesh at Cox Bazaar in November 2022.
- Set the Irani Trophy on fire this year, where he became the first batsman to score a double century (213) and a hundred (144) in the same match to help Rest of India lift their 30th title!
- His 371-run partnership with Abhimanyu Easwaran is the highest in the tournament ‘s history, and with an aggregate of 357 runs, he is now the highest run-getter in one edition of the Irani Cup
- Got auctioned at the IPL in 2020 to the Rajasthan Royals for a life-changing INR 2.4 Cr in 2020, upgraded to INR 4 Cr since 2022
- After aggregates of 40, 249 and 259 runs in his first three IPL season, he has now marked his territory in year 4, where he stands at 575 runs in 12 matches, just a run below Faf du Plessis, who currently wears the Orange Cap.
In the process, he has gone onto score his maiden ton in the IPL, a blistering 62-ball 124 against the mighty Mumbai Indians ~ this was the 1000th IPL match, and Yashasvi’s ton was the highestscore by an uncapped player in the history of the tournament.
And last night, during his 57-ball 98, he also scored the most runs by a batsman (26) in the first over of an IPL innings.
Jaiswal is all the rage currently, wanting to break free and conquer the world.
One just hopes and prays that he is guided well as he eventually emerges on to the international circuit; lives up to his potential and doesn’t go down the path taken by two other super-talented cricketers from Mumbai in the past, who had emerged at a rather young age.
Attitude trumps talent in the long run. Let’s hope his journey is an exciting and smooth one, as he transitions from an Uber auto ride to luxury cars!