There is a clamour in Indian cricket at the moment. Bring Yashasvi Jaiswal into the national fold as soon as possible. There is some merit behind such talks. He has done well in all the formats. He averages 80-plus in first-class cricket, nearly 54 in 50-over games and has just cracked a century in the IPL.
A left-hander with rare abilities, lots of grit and determination and having come from a very humble background, this boy from Uttar Pradesh who plays for Mumbai has made heads turn. It’s well known, the kind of hardship he went through in his early days in the commercial capital of India, assisting a panipuri seller to make ends meet.
Now, we come to the more important part. Jaiswal has loads of talent. How does he optimise it? What he has to do to remain relevant? Under whose guidance does he remain grounded instead of getting swayed by the money, adulation and fame coming his way? In short, how he handles these things is going to determine which way his career goes.
Because Jaiswal plays for Mumbai and is a left-handed batter, one is suddenly reminded of a similar player. He also made waves with his stunning performances at the junior level, enjoyed success with the senior Indian team and then faded out, never came back again. That was Vinod Kambli. He also came from a very ordinary background, just like Jaiswal.
It is said that Kambli could not handle the success he had had. There might have been other factors as well, but it is more or less accepted that Sachin Tendulkar’s partner in a landmark partnership in school cricket got carried away with all the good things that happened to him and failed to stay on track. He could not sustain what his primary job was, to stay disciplined and focussed as a cricketer.
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That is what Jaiswal has to do and that is his challenge at the moment, not the IPL or talks of an India call-up. He has to make sure that he stays grounded, concentrates only on his game and does not get diverted by the accolades he is getting. He has talent and big-match temperament everyone knows. To make the most of these traits, he has to stay disciplined and focus on cricket.
It’s easier said than done. No one is casting aspersions, but he is just 21, mind you. Coming from a background which could not afford much, he earns in crores these days. He is a star, a poster boy for many. To handle this at such a tender age is not easy. These are things that can take the focus away and cloud the mind with thoughts which can work in a detrimental manner.
That is why handling this phase of his career is so important for Jaiswal. He has had disciplinary issues. In the previous domestic season, he was sent off the ground for about half-an-hour by West Zone captain Ajinkya Rahane during the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone. The reason was an altercation the youngster had with an opposition player. Rahane’s action was a message for Jaiswal that ‘you are not bigger than the game’.
That is what he has to understand in order to live up to the enormous potential he has. An under-19 World Cup star with staggering numbers at the senior domestic level — double centuries in first-class and 50-over cricket plus an IPL hundred — few achieve these at such a young age. He is indeed a phenomenal prospect. But to covert that potential into international success, he has to pay attention to a lot of other things.
It’s great that IPL and even first-class teams in India have a strong support staff. Some of them specialise in dealing with mental issues. Jaiswal is fortunate that he is performing in this kind of an environment. This is something Kambli did not have because such concepts were unknown in India during his days. Now that he enjoys this, Jaiswal must make it count. He is a super talent who in all probability will play for India. To excel, he has to understand that talent is not everything. How you handle that talent determines where you go.