One of the most promising young cricketers in the game, Yashasvi Jaiswal has rapidly grown into an all-format player for the Indian team. The left-handed opening batter made his ODI debut for India in the recently-concluded 3-match series against Englan. Though Jaiswal only played one game in the series, he is widely seen as one of the future cricketing superstars for the nation. Jaiswal was also selected for India's preliminary Champions Trophy squad but was later removed as the selectors wanted to make space for spinner Varun Chakravarthy's inclusion.
Despite the drama-filled recent weeks, Jaiswal's coach Jwala Singh has high hopes for the exciting batting talent that the southpaw is. In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Yashasvi's coach opened up on his ward's rapid rise on the international stage, his exclusion from the Champions Trophy and also his leadership skills, which have made him a leadership candidate for the future.
It was only in 2023 that Yashasvi Jaiswal made his international debut. In less than 2 years he has become an all-format player. Considering how few all-format batters are there in the Indian team at present, his progress must really make you proud.
Yeah, I think I'm happy to see his progress since 2023 and the way he grew, scoring 100 in his Test debut and then later on with multiple records like two double-hundreds and scoring well in Australia. I think he has been a very good Test player as well as many good performances in T20 cricket and now he just got selected for the one-day team as well. So yes, I think the progress has been very satisfying and I always had trust and belief in his ability and that's why I really put a lot of energy into him and I'm very, very happy and satisfied with what I started many years back with the reason to make him, a world-class player that's on the way. So it makes me very, very proud and very, very happy.
Yashasvi made his ODI debut in the recently-concluded debut for England but the turn of events was such that couldn't get a longer rope. How do you see such an opportunity? Does it leave an unfulfilling feeling?
Well, I think he just got his one-day debut against England, scored around 15 runs and I think he could have scored more but in cricket, there are multiple challenges and sometimes you don't get what you're looking for. But yes, I think playing ODIs for India made him an all format but there's a learning curve for him. Whenever players fail or they don't perform, it's always time to rearrange your mind and body and rearrange your skills, upgrade your skills and that helps in the future. So I'm sure that later on he will play well in ODIs as well. It's not about wasting the opportunity or unfulfilling the ability, or opportunity. It's all about learning. So I think failure also gives you a lot of lessons and he will do well in ODIs. He will play well when he'll get his next chance.
Yashasvi was a part of the preliminary Indian squad for the Champions Trophy but had to be dropped from the final roster. How do you see that change?
Yes, I think he was part of the Champions Trophy based on his performance against Australia in the Test series. I heard Rohit Sharma on multiple occasions saying he is looking good and so without playing ODIs, you can include him in the Champions Trophy and that happened but I'm not much aware of what happened, why his name was not featured (in the final Champions Trophy squad). But yes, we have to accept the selectors' decision about what they feel, what kind of team balance they are looking for, and what kind of combination they are looking for. It's all okay because he's young and he will improve in the future. The most important thing is respecting the decisions of the decision-makers, those are selectors, and we all need to respect that and wait for another opportunity till that time he can work hard and he can get better.
India didn't have a particularly impressive Border-Gavaskar Trophy but Yashasvi's performances were among the few positives the team had. What did you make of his effort with the bat?
I think Indian performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was not so great. All we know, I mean, it is a disappointment that we lost it after winning the last time and this time we lost it and so as India started well there but later on we could not, you know, maintain that tempo and the last two Test matches were not so great for Indian players and I feel we are all disappointed, all Indian disappointed but I'm happy that Yashashvi played well but as I predicted early in the series that Yashasvi should score around two hundreds and he was very close to another century. But yes, still he's young and he has time to grow and I'm sure he will learn from all those experiences and he will get better. So I think scoring 100 in Australia really makes him a tougher player for the future.
Yashasvi is only 23 but sometimes he seems like a 30-year-old seasoned cricketer who knows how to handle himself in different situations. Was he always so determined?
Yes, I think he's quite mature for his age and because of his adaptability skill and the more he's playing, the better he's getting, and I think a lot of credit goes to the, you know, the other players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and team management as part of them. I think Rajasthan Royals played a major role in his development by giving him a lot of opportunities in IPL and he's been playing IPL for around five years and that IPL is the platform where you meet and interact with different players, different conditions and so I think that's really one of the key features of his maturity level and he knows how to handle the pressure in different formats. So yes, I think since these years he has played a lot of cricket with many legends that really helps him to grow and whenever, I used to always tell him that you need to learn from the legends, those who are playing the game, those who are big in the game and I think that really helps and he learned so many things from the legends and that's why he's looking very, very mature.
Though nothing official has been said, there are talks around Yashasvi Jaiswal being groomed into a future captain. How do you assess his leadership skills?
I think the captaincy is something which is not in the player's hands. I think it totally depends on the selectors, coaches, and the people who take the decision. I think ,as a player, you always try to play well, win the match for your country. That is the, you know, the basic goal for players but yes, I mean if you play for any team for a longer period like two years, three or four years, five years, you become the senior player and then you can contribute in other aspects as well, like becoming a captain, a vice-captain. It's a part of the journey but first I think you need to play well, to be there, be consistent, win the matches for the team and then if, I mean, the decision makers feel like he's good enough to lead the side or maybe help the captain, that is auto pilot. I know, you know, the bioproduct and it's something which we cannot choose. It's all about the decision makers, what I can say.
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