Yashavi Jaiswal poised to dominate Indian Cricket for a long time

Yashasvi Jaiswal stamped his authority in his first ever test match for India. It was a dream debut for the Mumbai batter to add to his fairytale story of rags to riches. Jaiswal scored a flawless hundred on a pitch where the ball wasn’t easily coming onto the bat. He was finally dismissed on 171 off 387 balls. 

While the technique was never an issue with Jaiswal, the most impressive part of his batting was the ease with which transitioned to the senior side. He did not seem to struggle at any stage against any type of bowler. For a guy with just 16 First Class Matches, the opener looked like he has hundreds of matches under his belt. He looked in complete control of his batting. 

Adaptable Jaiswal

Rohit Sharma hailed Jaiswal’s clarity of thought. “He’s got the talent,” Rohit said of Jaiswal. “We knew about it. He’s shown us in the past couple of years that he’s ready for this big stage. Came and batted sensibly, showed a lot of patience, and the temperament was tested as well – at no stage [did it look] like he was panicking or going away from his plans, which was good to see.”

That is the most important aspect of batting. He was so clear about which shot to play when and striking a balance between attack and defense. He is extremely calm and composed on the field while batting. The opener who scored a 13-ball fifty in the IPL 2 months before was happy to leave 13 balls in a row if needed. In fact, he took 16 balls to get off the mark. The batter was extremely cautious against the fast bowlers initially and offered a dead bat defense. When the ball was full, he did not miss the opportunity to drive. Against the spinners, he was a bit more proactive. He swept the ball quite often and pulled and cut the short of length deliveries. Whenever the spinners bowled full he milked them for singles. He played with a control of 86% with most of his runs coming square of the wicket. He scored 80 runs square off the wicket and 38 runs in the cover region.

Yashasvi has got a wide range of shots in his armory. Against spinners, he can use his feet and play in the V, play both types of sweeps, and use the depth of the crease to pull and cut the ball. Against the fast bowlers, he picks up the length of the ball very quickly and can pull deliveries that are not that short. He has got ample time to play the ball and never looks rushed. The noteworthy part of his batting is that in spite of having all the shots, he knows which shot to play when and which shots to curb. 

Coming from a Mumbai school of batting, Jaiswal scores big runs once he gets set. Prior to receiving the first India cap, he had an average of 82.11. In 26 innings, he had scored 50 or more runs 11 times and went on to surpass the century mark nine times. In the fourth innings of Mumbai’s drawn Ranji Trophy encounter against Tamil Nadu in January, he scored an unbeaten 60-ball 66, which would have made it 10 out of 11 if there had been a little more time left in the game.

What makes Jaiswal worth investing is due to his lefthandedness. Left Handed openers have an added advantage in test match cricket overseas against the new ball. According to the book Hitting Against the Spin, “Left-handed openers have always had an advantage under the LBW law, but pre-1990, inconsistent umpiring was too blunt an instrument to reveal that advantage. Protection in law against the ball pitching outside your leg stump is of little use to you if the umpire gives you out anyway. 

“But as the accuracy of decision-making grew the value of that protection grew too, and so did the performance of left-handers at the top of the order.”

India are desperately looking for a reliable opener in all conditions. Jaiswal provides the solution to this problem. He can leave the ball well, is excellent against the spinners, and has a good head on his shoulders. He will have his own set of challenges as he progresses in his career, but he is adaptive and constantly learning. Jaiswal can rule Indian Cricket in the years to come. 

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