India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has taken the cricketing world by storm with his swashbuckling batting exploits in the last 14 months. He amassed 712 runs at an average of 89 in the five-Test series against England at home earlier this year, which made him the fastest Indian to score 1000 runs in the longest format.
During the recently held Test series against Bangladesh, the southpaw returned with scores of 56, 10, 72 and 51, helping India seal the series 2-0. Jaiswal’s next challenge is at home against New Zealand before he will travel to Australia for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
On the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, India skipped Rohit Sharma addressed a press conference, where he praised Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hunger for runs while also mentioning that he isn’t surprised by the left-hander’s success.
"I am not surprised at all because the guy has got real talent. He has got the game to play in all sorts of conditions," Rohit said in the pre-match presser.
"Obviously, very new to international cricket right now, so, very hard to judge. But he has got all the ingredients for success at this level," he added.
But the early glimpses that Jaiswal showed have left Rohit a pleased man. "He is somebody who wants to learn the game, learn about batsmanship. When a youngster comes into the team, his mindset is quite critical.
"He always wants to improve, and is not happy with what he has achieved and which is obviously a great start to a young career. We found a great player. Hopefully, he can continue to do what he has done in the last year or so."
Throughout the history of Indian cricket, a number of exceptional players have lost track after making an impressive start to their international careers.
Recognizing this pattern, Rohit offered a word of caution to Jaiswal. "It is just about how he manages himself in the next couple of years. But what he has shown us in this brief period of time, you can bet on him to do wonders for the team. He has come through the ranks. Hopefully, what he has been doing, I hope he continues to do that," he said.
The captain also emphasized that Jaiswal's presence in the team provides a unique advantage, considering he is a left-handed batter.
"He has played a lot of domestic cricket, under-19 cricket. He has succeeded as well, and that is why he is playing for India. It does obviously well for our team as well him being a left-hander, being an aggressive batter," he remarked.