A half-paddle sweep to the fine-leg, a quick semi-glance to partner Rohit Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal set off to the other end with long and hurried strides to complete the most important run in his career. The moment he completed the run, he leapt, removed his helmet, waved his bat at his teammates and the sparse crowd and looked at the skies. It was the most beautiful and important moment of his career, a century on Test debut, just the 17th Indian to accomplish the feat, joining an elite list that includes Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Gundappa Viswanth among other other luminaries.
Him making debut was announced a few days. But doubts lingered, whether he has the technique as well as the temperament to translate the talent shown in domestic cricket at the highest level. Those having watched him blaze and blast in the IPL would have mistaken him as a freewheeler. But he has a portable game, methods that suit every format. His first class average of 80.61 attests to his comforts in red-ball cricket. The hundred was conceived in classical fashion, building the knock by blocks, taking time to get his eye in and not pursuing the big shots. As many as 39 runs (of the 100) came via singles, he picked four twos as well.
At no stage did he lose patience. Or even seemed like he would. Rather, Jaiswal the Test batsman was an antithesis to Jaiswal the IPL batsman. Last edition, he cracked a fifty in just 13 balls, here he took 17 balls to get off the mark. At no juncture did he look nervous or overawed. Right from the start, there was a sense of calm authority, a sense of belonging, that the stage was meant for him.
यशस्वी भवः 💯
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.#INDvWIonFanCode #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/59Uq9ik1If— FanCode (@FanCode) July 13, 2023
As the moment sunk in, his entire career might have flashed in front of his eyes. In the narrow bylanes of suburban Santacruz, where concrete buildings occupy every cramped space, is a sixth-floor 2BHK apartment where Yashasvi Jaiswal lives. The modest rented accommodation is way more comfortable than one of Jaiswal’s first homes in Mumbai – the tent meant for groundsmen at Azad Maidan. But his surroundings have never defined India’s latest batting sensation or could restrict his dreams.
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Before leaving to the Caribbean, he told The Indian Express: “This is a moment I have been dreaming all my life”. There have been nights when he would lie in bed and visualise himself in India whites, raising both his hands, acknowledging the applause of the crowd.
Times have changed but Jaiswal hasn’t. Having returned from England a day back, he is with his family on his big day. Despite his phenomenal rise, Jaiswal remains grounded. He still drives the same second-hand car he bought a few years back. He is making plans to go for a run with his brother. “Auto se chalenge,” he informs his brother, complaining about Mumbai’s traffic and parking problems.
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Jaiswal’s story has been an inspirational one. From staying in a tent, selling panipuri and later going on to play for India has been the story told of a journey whenever he does well in domestic cricket. He found a coach, Jwala Singh, and things got on track thereafter.
He recalls a story how he and his roomie groundsmen used to climb one of the trees of Azad Maidan to see IPL games on a large screen at Mumbai’s Press Club. “I had told my roomie that one day you will see me playing at the Wankhede Stadium under lights,” he recalls.
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The day came when he scored a hundred against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium this season and those past moments flashed back.
Shooed away
All his life the Mumbai opener wanted one chance to showcase what talent he had. During his early days, he would want to practice in the nearby nets of Azad Maidan and on many occasions he was told, “Chal udhar ja, yahan mat kar. (Go away, don’t play here).’
While growing up he often wished for his one chance. During a National Cricket Academy (NCA) under-19 camp a few years ago, he was batting lower down the order which meant he faced fewer balls. He rushed to West Zone coach Surendra Bhave and pleaded with him to give him one chance to bat high up the order. He got his chance and Jaiswal scored a hundred.
Yashasvi Jaiswal at his home. (Express Photo by Devendra Pandey)
He was picked for the India under-19 side which flew to Sri Lanka. There too he was batting lower down the order. He once again requested junior selector Ashish Kapoor, to give him one chance to bat up the order. Kapoor agreed and Jaiswal scored big.
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All my life I was ready to take any gamble to play this sport. I love this more than my life and am ready to do anything for it. I have always backed my decision,” Jaiswal says.
He is practical when he speaks, “Mujhe yeh karte rehna hai (I want to continue doing this), I don’t know about the future. No one knows what will happen next. I never ever thought that I would score a 13 ball-50, it just happened.”
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Jaiswal doesn’t have many friends, he often talks to himself. His priority is to take care of his family, buy a good house and keep his close ones happy all the time.
He knows that the only way to excel is to keep going back and keep doing things again and again.
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During the IPL, a teenaged crazy fan travelled to Jaipur, Delhi and again to Jaipur to cheer for him. He was a teenager and he himself wanted to be a cricketer. Jaiswal called him and said if he wants to be a cricketer like him, he must go and play; cheering for him won’t work.
“If I have to achieve something big then I have to keep on doing it for a long time. Keep learning. My mother and father said the same thing: that abhi bahut kuch karna hai (I have a lot more to achieve). I never think about things which are not in my hands,” he points out.
Yashasvi Jaiswal at his rented apartment in Santacruz. (Express Photo by Devendra Pandey)
If not in Mumbai, Jaiswal flies to remote Talegoan which is in Nagpur, a home for Rajasthan Royals. He along with Rajasthan Royals’ Zubin Bharucha, RR strategy, development and performance director, undergoes his daily training regimen.
A few months ago, a chat with Mumbai teammate Suryakumar Yadav on the sidelines of an IPL game inspired Jaiswal to put his nose to the grindstone in an attempt to rediscover his touch.
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“Keep working hard. Go back to the ground and keep following the process. It’s all a mind game,” Suryakumar is said to have told him.
Somewhere there is stubbornness in learning and working hard.
Rajasthan Royals Yashasvi Jaiswal plays a shot against Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL match at Eden Garden, Kolkata. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)
I’m not easy on myself. I am imaandar (honest) to myself and if any error happens then I tell myself ok I committed this mistake. If any good thing happens then I say ok, you did well but ab aage dekh (Now, look ahead). I never get carried away because I know who I am,” he explains.
Read | Yashasvi Jaiswal: Lived in a tent, sold pani puri, slept hungry, now plays cricket in IPL 2020
Once, Jaiswal decided he would learn English. He called up his friend in England whom he had homestayed with while playing cricket. He spoke for hours over the phone. So when Harsha Bhogale asked him questions in Hindi during the IPL, Jaiswal was adamant that he would reply in English.
“I’m open to learning new things, language he toh hai (It is only a language). The more mistakes I make, the more I learn,” he quips. It’s this will to learn and improve that has seen the boy from the tents at Azad Maidan become an India Test player. He bettered the script, he scored a hundred too on debut.
