Yashasvi Jaiswal was oblivious to the cheers of a handful of spectators as he walked across a soaked M Chinnaswamy Stadium turf on Wednesday, chatting intensely with assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. There was no pressing demand for him to spend an hour at indoor nets as rain held up the first day’s play of the opening Test between India and New Zealand. After all, he is going through a roseate phase in Test cricket for over a year now.
But that deep caring for his craft and a focused mind will come handy when Jaiswal crosses over to Australia next month for the biggest challenge yet in his fledgling career, feels his childhood coach Jwala Singh.
“At this level, it is more about how you handle pressure. You can always work on technique, but if you don’t have the right attitude and mindset then you will end up as a failure. But fortunately, Yashasvi has a mature head on his shoulder,” Jwala told PTI when he was informed about skipper Rohit Sharma‘s high evaluation of his younger colleague.
“It is even more true when you go and play in Australia because they play some hard cricket there and put a lot of pressure on opposition,” he added.
As someone who saw Jaiswal from a very young age, Jwala feels that the 21-year-old has grown as a batsman since making his debut in 2023 against the West Indies.
“I think being around players like Rohit and Virat has helped him a lot. After all, there is nothing like learning from such masters,” he said.
Since his baptism in international cricket, Jaiswal has made 1217 runs from 11 Tests at an average of 64.05 and has three daddy knocks – 171, 209 and 214.
So, what are the changes that he has observed in the left-hander in the last one year or so? “He always has been aggressive as a batsman. Earlier, he had a tendency to attack almost every ball, especially fast bowlers, but now he uses aggression more judiciously.
“Yashasvi now has more awareness of his game. He has better awareness about which ball to attack and which one to let go. Of course, he has also become a very good fielder now, especially in slip region,” Jwala noted.
The trait was visible in Jaiswal’s batting while going through a breakout series against England earlier this year.
The way he handled English legend James Anderson was impeccable. At Rajkot, Jaiswal respectfully patted a fuller length delivery from Anderson back to the bowler in the 85th over.
But once the pacer erred in length, Jaiswal creamed the Lancastrian’s next three balls for sixes — a sweep over square leg, a loft over mid-wicket and straight mousse over the bowler’s head.
Jaiswal was highly effective against Anderson throughout the series — extracting 98 runs from 150 balls that he faced off the quick and getting out twice.
It was not entirely surprising then that he became only the second Indian batter after the legendary Sunil Gavaskar to score over 700 in a series.
But then it is always easy to play down that wonderful run citing home advantage, as Australia offers a vastly different challenge.
What are the challenges a sub-continent batter will face Down Under? “First thing first, what India did in Australia during their last two visits here has been fantastic. Not many teams have managed that (winning back-to-back series). So, the Aussies will go hard at Indians to overturn it.
“I am sure they are going to pepper them with some short stuff and I guess the pitches too could offer some more spice.
“In that sense, I think the batters coming here should be well-prepared to play a few more cuts and pulls,” former England pacer Alan Mullaly, who is now settled in Perth, told PTI.
India skipper Rohit Sharma had little doubt about the skill level and adaptability of Jaiswal.
“He has got the game to play in all sorts of conditions. You can bet on him and expect him to do wonders for the team. We’ve found a great player.
“Now, it is just about how he manages himself in the next couple of years,” said Rohit.
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