The 21-year-old Yashasvi is steadily ticking off all boxes in style. While he has a First Class average of over 80, he also had a breakthrough IPL season, emerging as the leading run-scorer for the Rajasthan Royals and the fifth highest overall.
He was subsequently selected as a stand-by player for the World Test Championship Final which was followed by a maiden Test call up for India’s upcoming tour of the Caribbean.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (TOI Photo)
“Virat (Kohli) bhaiya and MS (Dhoni) sir have played big roles (in my career). I have taken advice from them. Their tips have helped me a lot. They have both played a lot of cricket and know the game very well. When you talk to them, you learn a lot. When you see them on the field, their batting, fielding, body language, their leg movements, the way they move their bat to play a particular shot, and the last-moment decision-making in shot selection, you learn a lot,” Yashasvi told TimesofIndia.com earlier in an exclusive interview.
“Virat bhaiya is a legend of the game. I had a really good interaction with him during the IPL. I took a lot of tips from him,” the 21 year old said.
Yashavi, who left his home in Suriya village in Uttar Pradesh at the age of 11 and travelled to Mumbai and lived in tents in the initial days of his career, was the fifth-highest run-getter in IPL 2023 and finished with 625 runs in 14 matches at an average of 48.08, with one century, and five fifties.
On the back of his stupendous show, Yashasvi got a call-up in the Rohit Sharma-led India squad for the Test series in the Caribbean.
With Cheteshwar Pujara not finding a place in the India squad, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Yashasvi being tried in the number 3 slot.
“During the IPL, I got the chance to interact with Virat bhaiya and MS sir. They gave me cricketing tips and those are helping me a lot,” Yashasvi further told TimesofIndia.com.
