Once every generation, Indian cricket tends to produce a breakout batting sensation. Could the prolific opener be the next one?
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 161 in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth has left Australia spellbound. Greg Chappell, one of the greatest Australian batters who has also been India head coach in the past, gushed in his column that “Jaiswal is the heir apparent to the throne of India’s batting genius, once occupied by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and then passed on to superstar Virat Kohli”.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
How does that make those who played a part in Jaiswal’s meteoric rise feel? Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, for one, has no doubt Jaiswal is the next breakout batting star of Indian cricket. Vengsarkar has played a key role in Jaiswal’s career, taking him to England for an exposure trip with his academy in 2015, when the batter was in his early teens.
“I saw the spark in him when he was on that England tour, when he was 14 or 15 years of age. His coach Jwala Singh told me to have a look at him at the nets of my academy at the Oval Maidan. He told me that Yashasvi had come from a humble background. Jwala himself had been a trainee at my academy in 1996-97. I was impressed by Yashasvi. Jwala had heard that I was taking my academy team to England, and requested me to include him, so that he would get exposure. And that’s how his journey began,” Vengsarkar told TOI.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jasprit Bumrah stole the show in India’s Perth win
During that tour, Jaiswal made plenty of runs in various conditions. Vengsarkar was awestruck with the youngster’s ability to adapt. “I saw that he had the ability to adapt to conditions very quickly, which is something very rare. Now he’s in Australia.
“He didn’t have time to adjust to the bounce or the wicket, but he adjusted very quickly. It’s something that I saw in him in England too, because in every match he was adapting very well. Importantly, he has focus, concentration, excellent temperament and of course, the skill level to excel. He’s got the potential to achieve bigger laurels, but you’ve to wait and see how he goes,” Vengsarkar said.
Jaiswal is still in touch with the former India chief selector. “Every time he gets out to a poor shot, I remind him about that on Whatsapp, and he accepts his mistake. He makes it a point to not repeat his mistakes.” The Mumbai and India stalwart loves Jaiswal’s penchant for ‘daddy’ hundreds.
Jatin Paranjape, former India batsman and currently a member of the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), said, “India is blessed with terrific young batters and Jaiswal probably is the most rounded. He has the potential to drive forward Kohli’s legacy. What remains to be seen is if he continues his disciplined approach, as Tendulkar and Kohli did. Gamewise, he has the chops.”
For Paranjape, it was Jaiswal’s situational awareness that stood out in Perth. “I think Jaiswal versus the Aussie fast bowlers will be a match-up to watch out for right through this series. He’ll need a bit of luck on the helpful Australian pitches, but he will attack relentlessly if given the chance. In Perth, I liked his blended approach, between watchfulness and offence. He read the situation of the game well and thought like a captain when he batted,” the former national selector said.
Rajasthan Royals’ high-performance director Zubin Bharucha, under whom the Mumbai batter trains before the IPL and whenever he’s not on national duty, pointed out a few key technical aspects of Jaiswal’s game. “One, he has the discipline to stick to the plan of no back-foot or front-foot drive with a straight bat from wide-mid-off to third man.
“That ball is to be either left alone or played with a square bat towards third man, point or over the ‘keeper, depending on the length. Two, not being tempted into playing the pull or hook but using the pace of the ball instead. Three, not pushing at the ball but allowing the ball to come to him and defending close to the body, forcing the bowlers to bowl a lot more into his pads, presenting scoring opportunities,” Bharucha said. “There’s still miles to go because there were several false shots and he was lucky not to edge them. Still, we needed to break the shackles overseas.”
Jwala Singh, who coached Jaiswal and was his mentor, is elated with the player’s latest feat. “I’m very happy to see him scoring a hundred in Perth. He’s a player who can take Indian cricket’s batting legacy forward,” Jwala, who spotted him in 2013, said.
