Yashasvi Jaiswal, the next superstar from Mumbai’s school of batting?

“Yashasvi Jaiswal at 21 is a generational talent, a genuine all format player. Team India has a gem awaiting,” tweeted Tom Moody on April 27. Two weeks later, the former Sunrisers Hyderabad coach was “lost for words” as the Rajasthan Royal opener took it up a notch.

Moody knows what he is talking about. The former Australian all-rounder has been mighty impressed ever since he saw Jaiswal play in U-19 World Cup in South Africa. In February 2020, Jaiswal was among his “six players to watch out for”.

Jaiswal’s talent is not confined to the white-ball game. He has been phenomenal in first-class cricket too, scoring nine hundreds and two fifties in just 15 matches. It is his consistency, both in first-class cricket and in IPL, which has caught everyone’s attention. He has scored nearly 2,000 runs at an enviable average of 80 in red-ball cricket.

Going, going, gone

In its 16 years, IPL has seen the favourite hunting ground of big hitters like Chris Gayle, Adam Gilchrist, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya but none of them managed to do what Jaiswal has done — fifty off 13 balls.

Around 700 players and more than 15,000 innings didn’t unleash the mayhem that Jaiswal did at the Eden Gardens against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 11.

Even Yusuf Pathan at his belligerent best took 17 balls to score the fastest 50 for the Rajasthan Royals. 6 6 4 4 2 4 1 4 6 4 4 4 – is how Jaiswal’s scored on May 11, completing the half-century with a single on the 13th ball. He remained unbeaten at 98, missing his ton by a whisker but sealed his place in the IPL pantheon with one of its best, if one the finest, innings.

There is nothing like the high of a good game. Jaiswal once recalled how he struggled with English in a post-match interview after the first U-19 World Cup game in 2020 in South Africa. When he went back to the dressing room, everyone was laughing.

Cut to Kolkata on May 11. Commentator Harsha Bhogle starts in Hindi as he talks to Jaiswal after he was adjudged Man-of-the-Match. Jaiswal, without being disrespectful, subtly conveys to Bhogle he is confident enough to tackle the language. Proficiency in English is never and should never be the measure of an athlete but the language has been a bugbear for many Indian cricketers. Tackling it head-on is a small win of sorts.

Every time Jaiswal scores big, which is often, his humble beginnings and the time he spent living in the tents of Azad Maidan in Mumbai are talked about in the media. His struggle to make ends meet by selling pani-puri in the evenings is a tale of grit and perseverance.

But for fans and experts, Jaiswal hard work has already paid off and he is on course to join the big league. Former India coach Ravi Shastri wants him to be fast-tracked into the national team for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Former India wicketkeeper and selector Saba Karim has been effusive in his praise. “When one sees Jaiswal and SKY bat, it is amply clear that T20 game has moved on from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli!!,” Karim tweeted, also talking about Surya Kumar Yadav.

Playing it big​

Jaiswal is the second-highest run-getter this season at 575 runs, one shy of top scorer Faf du Plessis. There is a good chance that Jaiswal will snatch the orange cap from the South African cricketer.

The two go head to head on May 14 as Rajasthan Royals, who have had a good season, go up against Royal Challengers Bangalore who are staring at elimination.

Jaiswal will likely be part of the Indian one-day squad that will play a series against Afghanistan in mid-June when most of the seniors will be rested. He may even travel to West Indies and Ireland for T20 games as India builds a younger side under Hardik Pandya.

Jaiswal has a huge appetite for runs. He scored three tons in nine days in the 2019 Vijay Hazare Trophy and was also the highest run-getter in Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.

A fan of Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Jaffer, Jaiswal is also the youngest cricketer to make a double hundred in List A cricket. Only time will tell who among his heroes will his career come closest to, but for now, Jaiswal has given the game and his fans enough to cheer about and hope for.