Two years ago, a youngster was sent off the field by his captain during the Duleep Trophy final between West Zone and South Zone in Coimbatore. He had misbehaved with his opponents. The leader of the troop, Ajinkya Rahane, asked his man to leave, fielded with 10 players, and called him back after some time. The idea was to convey that nobody is bigger than the game.
That player put the finishing touches on India’s stunning win against Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur. Of the many shots he played across two innings, an on-drive against the turn of an off-spinner had the TV commentators raving, even after the winning runs were hit. It was a display of timing and placement of the highest class. He was adjudged Player of the Match.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has hardly put a foot wrong since that Duleep Trophy incident. Since making his Test debut in the West Indies in July 2023, in 11 outings — all the matches India have played in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle — he has scored 1,217 runs at an average of 64.05. Both his aggregate and average are the best for his team in this period.
That he can take a heavy toll on ordinary bowling became evident in his first appearance in Dominica, where he made 171. After failures in difficult conditions in South Africa, the left-handed opener has displayed a wide range of skills in seven Tests at home against England and Bangladesh. He has at least one half-century in each of those games, apart from two double centuries against England.
Batsmanship is only a part of this story. As Ravi Shastri pointed out during live commentary on TV 18, Jaiswal has shown a “hunger” for runs. This makes a good player better. A lot of batters know how to score, but not many become as good at accumulating runs as this 22-year-old. All three of his centuries are 170-plus. He has seven fifties, including two in the same Test for the first time in Kanpur.
For someone who grew up in the T20 era, his tenacity to not throw away his wicket is a noticeable characteristic. There are examples in India of talented players whose attitudes and temperaments changed after success in the Indian Premier League. Jaiswal belongs to this generation and is an IPL star himself, which makes his appetite for runs in the longest format even more noteworthy.
It’s a fact that almost all his runs have come in good batting conditions, and most of the bowlers Jaiswal faced were not top-class. However, his determination to go big once set is promising. In Australia, he will be tested by the bounce. Given his ability to play on either foot, however, he may enjoy it if the ball comes onto the bat. Next summer, there will be a trial by swing in England, and his performances in these places will define him.
As far as the player born in UP is concerned, he has mastered what has been thrown at him so far. When England toured India earlier this year, he had to weather a probing opening spell by James Anderson. It was a short yet thorough examination by the king of swing. In response, the opener looked organised and secure. In the first Test against Bangladesh, the ball did a bit in overcast conditions, but Jaiswal showed discretion, eschewed instinct, demonstrated patience, and made 56 off 118 balls.
The same player smacked 12 sixes, including three in a row off Anderson, on his way to an unbeaten 214 off 224 balls on a flat Rajkot pitch. In the second Test against Bangladesh, he raced to a 52-ball 71. This ability to operate in opposite gears is a gift. He can play almost every textbook shot, on both sides, along with some unorthodox ones. All this, with good returns at just 22, suggests this is the beginning of something special. Tests overseas will determine that.
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