Yashasvi - boy monk who willed himself into a batting phenomenon
To have left home at 10 and live alone in a megapolis like Mumbai for chasing the dream of playing for India must have been like going on a sea voyage on a hand-made raft without any navigation instrument. The young lad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, from Suriya village (Bhadohi district, UP) could have easily drifted into a ‘castaway’ the Mumbai city is filled with.
To live first couple of years all by himself, except for the initial few months when he stayed with his uncle, every single night must have been achingly long, dark and dreadful, especially the ones he had to go without food for lack of money.
Perhaps, it was Azad Maidan, the home of Mumbai cricket, where Jaiswal lived in the gardener’s dilapidated shack, that constantly fed his dream, if not his belly.
Then to have written a script 12 years later that even an Oscar-winning scriptwriter would easily give both his arms for - a century (171) on his debut against West Indies and now 712 runs against England, including a world record 26 sixes in the five-Test series - reflects how the precocious young cricketer unrelentingly clung on to his dream despite having only loneliness, hunger and uncertainty as his entourage.
How could a boy of 10 know how to navigate his way through to the Indian cricket team? From where could he learn the monk-like ability to surrender himself to his dream unless it was the sheer force of destiny which kept his inner fire unwavering. Or unless the boy himself forced the destiny to write a dream script for him.
Quite fittingly, a couple of years after landing in Mumbai, he found a mentor in Jwala Singh, a local coach who ran a cricket academy and whose name in Hindi means ‘flame’. Singh not only brought Jaiswal to his academy but also home as he became a legal guardian in Dec. ‘13.
What followed was a decade-long process of relentless tempering of the young cricketer’s body, mind and cricketing skills. It also forged his hunger for excellence.
At 22, the manner in which Jaiswal batted in the Vizag Test against the likes of James Anderson, one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, thwarting the attack for seven hours and five minutes where other batsmen struggled, showed how well equipped his young shoulders are to carry the burden of his team in crisis.
India added only 13 runs to finish at 396 after Jaiswal got out for a masterly 209. The team won the Test by 106 runs to equalise the series 1-1.
Next stop, in the Rajkot Test, critics wouldn’t have been harsh had Jaiswal missed out on scoring but after a paltry 10 runs in the first innings, he led India’s counter-attack with another double-century (214 not out).
What left the cricketing world stunned was the sharp contrast in style and conception of his second double ton. If the first knock involved patience and vigilance of a maestro, the one at Rajkot had the fury of Indian summer.
He smoked English bowlers for a world record-equalling 12 sixes. The innings had all the shots in the modern-day cricketing manual - from cheeky reverse sweeps to imperious straight drives. Anderson, the only fast bowler to scale the 700-wickets summit in Test cricket, was hammered for three consecutive sixes - no batsman had ever handed out such a humiliating treatment to arguably England’s greatest fast bowler.
All those runs couldn’t have flowed without an impeccable batting technique. But it’s his beautiful mind that decides whether to stand still like a heron or jump out of the crease like a feline predator.
The audacious lap shot from outside the off stump to fine leg boundary and stepping out for an outrageous six over the sightscreen, both off Anderson at Rajkot, showcased his latter trait.
However, when the match situation demanded dead defence, he could bring it out at will, especially in the Vizag Test. Only a player gifted with natural brilliance, backed with tough grind at the nets, could conceive and execute the shots Jaiswal produced through the Test series.
The same brilliance is often seen in his fielding, especially in the slips. The now so infamous reverse scoop of Joe Root in the Rajkot Test was caught by Jaiswal in the second slip.
Quite deservingly, he took home the ‘Player of the Series’ trophy after playing a momentous role in India’s resounding 4-1 victory over England.
After India’s record 434-run triumph over England at Rajkot, the opener was quite insightful about his hunger for runs in a post-match chat with former England batsman-turned-commentator Nick Knight.
"In India, when grow up, you work really hard for each and everything. Even when getting the bus you have to work really hard to get the bus. You have to work really hard to get to the train and auto rickshaw and everything and I have done that since my childhood and I know how important every innings is and that’s why I really work hard in my practice sessions and every innings counts for me and for my team that is my biggest motivation to play for my country and I just make sure that whenever I’m there I need to give my 100% and then enjoy," said Jaiswal.
In fact, former England captain, Nasser Hussain urged England batsmen to learn from Jaiswal instead of claiming he learnt from them. “He's not learnt from you. He's learnt from his upbringing, all the hard yards he had to put in growing up. He has learnt from IPL. If anything, lads, look at him and learn from him," Hussain said in a Sky Sports podcast after the Ranchi Test.
It was not without a reason Hussain was referring to the IPL. In the 2023 edition, Jaiswal had scored 625 runs in 14 matches with a monstrous strike-rate of 163.61 for Rajasthan Royals.
Hopefully, all the hard yards will keep Jaiswal true to his path for years to come.
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