Back in January 2023, Yashasvi Jaiswal was nowhere near to being in contention for a spot in the Indian team. Come 2024, the southpaw is going through a purple patch, showing different aspects of his game across formats. He has simply been unstoppable as he keeps showing time and again why he is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket if not the brightest.
Ever since he donned the national colours for the first time last year against the West Indies, Jaiswal has given very little reasons to doubt his credentials as a quality batter in top-level cricket. The Young Turk averages 71.75 in Tests and is on the verge of equalling Vinod Kambli’s record for the fastest Indian to 1000 runs in the purest format. | IND vs ENG, 3rd Test scorecard
Jaiswal lighting up Rajkot
On Sunday, Jaiswal achieved all sorts of milestones as he showed his wide range of shots in the 3rd Test against England in Rajkot en route to his knock of 214 not out. He equalled Wasim Akram’s record for the most sixes in a Test innings (12), while breaking Navjot Sidhu’s India record (8).
If Jaiswal hits 1 more six, he will equal Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of sixes (26) in Test cricket. Mind you, Kohli took 113 Tests to hit those many sixes and Jaiswal hasn’t even played 10 Tests for India.
Jaiswal, in the meantime, became only the 3rd Indian after Kambli and Virat Kohli to hammer back-to-back double hundreds in Tests. At the age of 22, Jaiswal could not have expected a better start to his international jersey.
If Jaiswal scores 229 in the last 2 Tests, he will break Gavaskar’s 53-year-old India record for most runs (774) in a bilateral Test series.
In only in 7th Test match, Jaiswal has taken giant strides in his career. It goes without saying that he has already become an indispensable member of the Indian team, at least in Test cricket.
Yashasvi Jaiswal: India’s answer to Bazball
Prior to the ongoing 5-match Test series, the focus was mostly on England and their talked-about Bazball approach under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. Stokes and McCullum are the 2 of the 3 batters to have hit 100 or more sixes in Test cricket.
Hence, it does not raise eyebrows that England play with an attacking mindset. And the tactic has paid dividends for them more often than not. India had to find their ways of counter-attacking their opponents and needed players who could fight fire with fire.
And it came in the form of Jaiswal, who has been relentless, and most importantly, ruthless. Jaiswal has scored 545 runs in the series, 257 more than second-placed Ben Duckett. Amongst the Indians, no other batter has come close to Jaiswal’s brilliance.
Most importantly, Jaiswal has gone about his business at a strike-rate of 81.1, the second-best in the series after Duckett’s 95.68. After he scored 80 in the Hyderabad Test, although in a losing cause, it marked the beginning of something extraordinary.
Jaiswal needs to be taken care of
Having played only 7 Tests and 17 T20Is, Jaiswal is at the dawn of his career for India. Apart from his heroics in Test cricket, Jaiswal has also shown a lot of flexibility. Back in November 2023, he set the record for the most runs in a powerplay for India in T20Is and the 3rd after KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma to score a half-century.
Last year, he broke Rahul’s record of the fastest fifty in Indian Premier League (IPL) history after he achieved the landmark off 13 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Hence, it is evident that Jaiswal has different gears to his game.
After first hogging the limelight in the U19 World Cup 2020 on South African soil, Jaiswal’s career has only gone northwards. He has all the qualities to become one of India’s greatest Test batters, but it all depends on how Indian cricket takes care of him.
Leave aside the Fab 4s and Fab 5s, Jaiswal has shown signs of going places in his career and the start has been nothing short of fantabulous.
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