Yashasvi Jaiswal: Another batting gem from Mumbai declares his arrival in style

More than a decade back Yashasvi Jaiswal was so bitten by the cricket bug that he made the switch from rural Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai, the country’s foremost cricketing destination. He was all of 12 years old, unaware of the road he needed to traverse to realise his dreams. But with the bravado that only comes to someone that young, he set out to chase his dreams.

Look where that has brought him today.

There is no more unforgiving place than Mumbai when it comes to cricket. There is also no place more welcoming and rewarding than India’s commercial capital, where word spreads very quickly through the old boys’ network that is always on the lookout for exciting new talent.

Jaiswal’s exploits in the local leagues earned him a call-up to the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad in January 2019, when he was only 17. On debut against Chhattisgarh, he made 20 and 0 not out, but that was merely the beginning.

New-age phenomenon

As he played more, he got better. And more prolific. Belonging to a generation that swears by the 20-over game, Jaiswal is without a doubt a new-age phenomenon, but he also has strong basics which is why he is able to score quickly without resorting to the crude and the unconventional. But because his grounding is solid, he is also adept at playing time. Even today, in the ‘maidans’ of Mumbai, coaches frown when their wards hit the ball in the air; a slap on the wrist, or more severe punishment, isn’t too far away. Jaiswal has clearly learnt his lessons well.

On Test debut in the Caribbean last July, he batted 501 minutes in Roseau to craft a sparkling, solid 171; last week in Hyderabad, he blazed to 80 off 74 deliveries in India’s first innings, showing that he could bat in multiple gears. But Hyderabad rankled. A hundred was his for the taking in his first Test in India, but he threw that away. There would be no repeating that mistake in Visakhapatnam.

Rohit Sharma did his side a good turn by winning a crucial toss on Friday and no one was more eloquent in offering his thanksgiving than the 22-year-old. By stumps on day one of the second Test against England, Jaiswal had reached 179, his highest Test score, in a six-hour exhibition of greed and hunger. He didn’t grind his way like on debut, he didn’t play like the dasher on view in Hyderabad. This was the perfect balance between those two essays, each ball was treated on its merit. He played the ball, not the bowler, so 690-wicket champion James Anderson and debutant Shoaib Bashir were both tackled in the same manner, with the respect the ball deserved, not the basis of where they were on the experience spectrum.

Making it big early

On Saturday, Jaiswal translated his overnight 179 to 209, the highest score by a left-handed Indian Test opener. At 22 years and 37 days, he became the country’s third youngest Test double centurion, after Vinod Kambli and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. In case you missed it, they are all from the Mumbai stables.

Around his Test exploits – this is only his sixth Test – he has also taken effortlessly to 20-over cricket. Having made a name for himself at Rajasthan Royals, Jaiswal already has an international T20 hundred. Despite averaging 53.96 in 32 domestic 50-over games, he is yet to win a One-Day International cap, but as the focus shifts to the next 50-over World Cup in 2027, you can rest assured Jaiswal will be in that mix too sooner rather than later.

For the time being, Jaiswal has his feet firmly planted on the ground, his head fixed unwaveringly on his shoulders. In his captain Rohit Sharma, with whom he has shared several meaningful opening alliances, he has a benevolent older brother who won’t hesitate to crack the whip if the need so arises. In head coach Rahul Dravid, he has a mentor and guide who has been there and done it all, and who is an excellent man-manager. At Rajasthan Royals, he has the luxury of picking the brains of another all-time great, Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. And within the contours of the Indian dressing room, he can also turn to Virat Kohli for advice and help and suggestions if he so desires.

Sky’s the limit

Jaiswal is a willing, determined, keen, and fast learner, from all accounts, and doesn’t allow the grass to grow under his feet. While he did smash seven sixes during the epic 209 spread over Friday and Saturday, it was clear that he wasn’t going to be taking any chances.

He followed the Mumbai mantra to the ‘T’, primarily targeting strokes all along the carpet and only opening his powerful shoulders when the ball was thrown up in the air and he was confident that he could get to its pitch and smite it a mile, or when he could stay in the crease and muscle it over the ropes. He played every stroke in the book, with a particular penchant for the cover drive which most left-handers worth their salt translate into a piece of art. For all the punishment they copped at his hands, there was a grudging admiration from the England camp that manifested itself in every fielder making a beeline to shake his hand when he was eventually dismissed, caught in the deep.

The perhaps not-considerable challenge for the elder statesmen around Jaiswal is to keep reminding them that this is just the beginning, that the world could be his oyster if he didn’t allow himself to be carried away with this sudden burst of attention and adulation. Gavaskar might have advised him to invest in a pair of sunglasses so that he doesn’t get blinded by the glare of the spotlights trained on him, but the great man knows that sunglasses and earpods are as much a part of the modern cricketer’s kit bags as bats and gloves and other protective equipment.

As for Jaiswal, the sky's the limit. Alongside the currently beleaguered duo of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, as well as the likes of Rajat Patidar, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Tilak Varma and their ilk, he is the future of Indian batting. With the rider that what he makes of this roaring start to his career is literally and entirely in his own hands.