It is right to say that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands with the likes of Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Devdutt Padikkal moving up the ranks with some impressive performances. However, if there is one player who has completely taken Indian cricket by storm, it has to be batting sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Yashasvi scoring right up the order has been very significant in this Test series. It has made a big difference and put the Indian team ahead in the game on several occasions. Known for his fearless brand of cricket, Jaiswal has surprised many in the English team by adopting his own brand of ‘Bazball cricket’ by punishing the English bowlers.
Jaiswal went past Virat Kohli’s record as well against England as he scored 712 runs in the series with two hundreds and three fifties averaging 89 and striking at a very impressive rate of 80. The impact he made in this Test series is quite evident, putting England on the back foot right from the beginning. With the Indian team missing some of their more experienced players, there were many questions if the younger lot could handle the pressure.
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Southpaw Jaiswal led from the front and his onslaught made things clear right from the very beginning.
Jatin Paranjape, former Indian cricket and selector who has closely watched Jaiswal in the recent past was amazed with the way the youngster has approached the game. Paranjape went on to mention “Yashasvi has had an absolute dream start to his Test career. After Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, I think he is the next all-format batter for India. Batting at the top of the order in Test cricket tests your technique. So far, he has been able to leave the ball outside the off stump with patience and security. To me, this is a sign of a mature and self-confident batter. He has all the muscle to go with this “Puritan” aspect, so I think the sky is the limit for him,” said Paranjape.
Jaiswal did show maturity one would have seen in a senior player in this Test series. It proves, there is someone with great game sense even in difficult situations. Zubin Bharucha, director of high performance at the Rajasthan Royals and mentor to Jaiswal said the impact Jaiswal made was due to his continuous preparation.
Zubin highlighted Jaiswal by saying: “From our perspective, everything boils down to preparation. We have to ensure our preparation is always 100% to extract the best results. The preparation is based on the output we are looking to extract while eliminating all the other elements that might not be as important. A high variability and sequencing approach are used to help prepare for all types of situations. After all the preparation is done, it eventually comes down to execution which, Jaiswal has done well.”
“Protocols will be put in place to ensure similar results in the future. However, I cannot say for sure if we can use the same technique when we play abroad, for example, in Australia. It may or may not work out but we will give it a shot,” added Zubin.
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Dilip Vengsarkar, nicknamed Colonel, and a former Indian cricketer with great class, has seen Jaiswal from his initial cricketing days was all praise for the youngster. Vengsarkar spoke about his focus and passion for the game which made a huge impact in this Test series.
Vengsarkar also mentioned some fine details. “I had taken him to England as a part of my camp and I understood from then itself that he was a special player. His focus and passion for the game is what made all the difference in this Test series. He was hungry to score runs and went on to do that. He got out to an unfortunate shot in the last Test, but he is a fast learner and will go places,” said Vengsarkar.
The hype around Jaiswal has been built and it is clear that he is definitely one for the future. What will be interesting to see is if he can continue to score runs like this when the Indian team travels abroad. For the record, on his Test debut in the West Indies in 2023, Jaiswal hammered a heavy ton in Dominica.
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