India’s Tour of West Indies: Jaiswal looking forward to a new beginning

Prolific: Jaiswal has been piling it on in all formats over the last 14 months.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI

His name was being murmured ever since India’s World Test Championship (WTC) final loss. Even though he was officially informed about his maiden India call-up for the Test matches on Thursday night, young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal kept his composure, which has been his hallmark, till the squad was formally announced on Friday afternoon.

Only then did he get a little bit emotional. “I have been trying to tell myself not to get excited since it’s just the beginning but it is obviously a big deal,” Jaiswal told The Hindu.“ I have been working towards for this very moment all my life. And I know it’s just the beginning. I am looking forward to it.”

Jaiswal’s rise from staying in a tent at a Mumbai maidan to India Under-19 to being the youngest double centurion in List A cricket to an Indian Premier League star to a prolific First Class run-getter has been well-documented.

What is astonishing is the manner in which he has been pulverising bowlers, irrespective of the format, conditions and opposition.

Fantastic form

Since April 2022, he has been in phenomenal touch. In 24 innings in 14 matches for four different teams in First Class cricket — Mumbai, West Zone, India A and Rest of India — he has plundered 1825 runs, with nine hundreds.

In six List A innings, all for Mumbai, Jaiswal has scored 396 runs, with two hundreds. And in the shortest format, including two seasons for Rajasthan Royals, he has tallied 1149 runs in 34 innings, including a hundred and eight fifties.

How has he been able to achieve what’s often referred to as “being in the zone” in sporting lingo?

“Not thinking too much about external factors. Making optimum use of every practice session and being determined on the results,” he says.“ It may sound as a cliche but honestly, all I have been trying to do is to focus on the processes.”