Yashasvi Jaiswal is here to 'dominate, not survive'

Yashasvi Jaiswal presented his India A cap to his childhood coach and guardian Jwala Singh only to get it back immediately with a bigger challenge: "Jab tu mujhe senior Indian team ka cap lake dega, main tabhi pehnunga (I will only wear it once you bring me the senior Indian team cap)."

Yashasvi is all of 21. But right from his childhood, he has learnt to accept challenges, overcoming obstacles with sheer grit and determination. Failure was never an option. From sleeping in tents when he was only 13 to representing India in U19 World Cup, smashing a century for India A and becoming an integral part of the Rajasthan Royals set-up in the IPL, Yashasvi has come a long way. But like Singh said, he is still far away from his goal. He, however, has taken giant strides towards getting that India cap with power-packed performances in this IPL.

Yashasvi smashed his highest IPL score (77 off 43) against Chennai Super Kings on Thursday and got Player of the Match - his second of this season - in RR's comfortable 32-run victory that took them to the top of the table. This is Yashasvi's fourth year in the IPL. While he had shown splashes of brilliance towards the latter half of the previous season and also in 2021, where he scored 249 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 148, he appears to be close to his absolute best this year.

The left-hander has hammered 304 runs in 8 matches with three half-centuries so far. His strike rate of 147.57 is one of the best among openers in IPL 2023. The fact that he came into the T20 league on the back of a 213 and 144-run knock in the Irani Cup match against Madhya Pradesh also helped.

'Generational talent'

"The batter who has impressed me most is Yashasvi Jaiswal from Rajasthan Royals," said Mithali Raj. Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody called Yashasvi Jaiswal a generational talent. "Yashasvi Jaiswal at 21 is a generational talent, a genuine all-format player. Team India has a gem awaiting," he tweeted.

But it was not always this smooth for the young man who travelled to Mumbai from Bhadohi – a town in Uttar Pradesh - at the age of 11 with dreams of playing cricket at the highest level. In his maiden IPL season in 2020, he was dropped after just three games. The reason? Only 40 runs while opening the batting at a strike rate of 90. Like many times since his teenage days, Singh, a former Junior Mumbai cricketer, came to his rescue.

"There was a big difference in the level (from U19 to IPL). We realised that he can't play for survival, he will have to dominate," Singh said. From then on Yashasvi's strike rate in the last three editions of IPL has been 148, 133, and 147. "He practised on cemented pitches with the plastic ball. He always had a good technique, all he needed to work on was the power game. I got some throwdown specialists and made them bowl to him from a short distance and asked him to play attacking shots," Singh said.

There was another minor technical adjustment. Yashavi had a bigger trigger movement in the past, which restricted his reflexes. Come 2023, he is standing firm with a still head than ever before. "The initial movement is to help you react not to restrict or commit to a particular stroke. Too much movement before the ball is delivered never helps," Singh added.

"But sir, won't it affect my batting technique?" Asked a worried Yashasvi, who by then had also achieved a fair amount of success at the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy. Singh's challenge was now to convince the left-hander to make the mental adjustments. "This is the need of the hour. You can't play defensive cricket as an opener. You will have to land the first blow and let the opposition know that you are here not to hide but to highlight. If you have a good first over then the momentum is set," Singh told Yashasvi.

The result has been telling. No other batter has hit more first-over boundaries in IPL 2023 than Yashasvi. On Thursday, against CSK, he hit three in the first over. Against DC, he had hit as many as five boundaries in the first over. Such has been the young left-hander's brilliance in the powerplay that he has at times overshadowed his dynamic opening partner Jos Buttler. "He made Buttler look like a snail," said former India cricketer Murali Kartik in commentary. "When he has got going, he has at times overshadowed (Jos) Buttler in the first six overs. For a youngster to bat alongside an international star who is one of the best players in this format and overshadow him is something remarkable," said Mithali.

Learning from the best

Yashasvi has learnt a lot from Buttler 'bhai'. He has been opening the batting with the England white-ball skipper for four seasons now. "He is really fortunate to have a legend like Jos at the other end. He takes his advice very seriously and has developed a cordial relationship. Kumar Sangakarra, the coach of RR, also works with him a lot," Singh said.

Buttler and Sangakkara are not the only legends he has struck a bond with while playing in the IPL. He has been spotted chatting with MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after the matches. "I keep speaking to senior players like Dhoni sir and Virat bhai. I enjoy pressure and want to be there when there is pressure," Yashasvi said.

Yashasvi, however, is far from being a finished product. He has terrific numbers in the first six overs but slows down considerably after that and almost all his dismissals after the powerplay have come while trying to play an attacking shot against medium pacers in the middle overs. With an average of only 9 against pacers after the powerplay, the intent is there but he is far away from the execution. As coach Singh's last message to Yashasvi read: "Your best is yet to come."