Without a timely intervention from a very famous cricketer, Yashasvi Jaiswal probably would have been plying his trade in domestic cricket for Goa this term. He had reportedly fallen out with the Mumbai team management and all but made up his mind to move to Goa to play domestic tournaments for the state in 2025-26. Jaiswal communicated his intention to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), just stopping short of putting forward a formal request for a no-objection certificate (NOC).
Then the phone call came from the senior cricketer, widely respected in the Indian and Mumbai dressing room, asking him to stay put and not to go anywhere. Jaiswal took a U-turn and requested the MCA to let him continue with Mumbai.
It’s purely coincidental that the southpaw returned to play for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Goa in Jaipur on Wednesday. He did okay, scoring 46 off 64 balls, but the way things panned out at Jaipuria Vidyalaya Ground, it was just a footnote.
The day belonged to Sarfaraz Khan, who made 157 off 75 balls, including nine fours and 14 sixes, as Mumbai posted 444/8 in 50 overs. They fell 13 short of surpassing their highest List A total — 457 against Puducherry in 2021.
Sarfaraz came into this game on the heels of his half-century against Chhattisgarh. He shared a 93-run third wicket partnership with his brother Musheer (60) and then cut loose following the latter’s dismissal. He toyed with the Goa bowling.
In this season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (20-over format), Sarfaraz ended up with 329 runs, including a century, from seven matches at a strike-rate of 203.08. It helped him earn a contract with Chennai Super Kings. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, he has already scored 220 runs from three innings at an average of 110.00. The 28-year-old is not even in the India A scheme of things under the current set-up. But he continues to let his bat do the talking.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news
