Jwala Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s childhood mentor is over the moon about the start his pupil has got in his international career. Singh sounds ecstatic following Jaiswal’s century as his gut feeling of him coming good on his Test debut has come true.
The southpaw batter became the 17th Indian cricketer to register his name on the coveted list of players to score a hundred on debut.
After bowling out West Indies for a meagre 150, thanks to Ravichandran Ashwin’s 5-60, the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal piled up the misery on the hosts on Day 2 of the first Test between West Indies and India.
Jaiswal is still at the crease, batting on 143 off 350 deliveries and will look to score big. He finished the day’s proceedings along with Virat Kohli, who’s 36 not out off 96.
Having seen his ward from close quarters, Jwala feels the debutant’s experience in dealing with international bowlers in the IPL has helped him grow in stature.
"I am happy to see him grow. I had some feeling that he would start well. He has spent four good seasons in the IPL and also in domestic cricket. He has played most of the world-class bowlers under a lot of pressure, especially in the IPL,” Singh said.
The coach adds how he has always advised him of playing on the merit of the ball and not the bowler. He’s happy that the prodigal left-hander has been able to apply that in his game.
"He has the idea about playing with top-quality bowlers. As a player, it is important to have the habit of making runs. As a coach, I always teach my players to see the ball and not the bowler and try to react to the ball well. There will always be nine fielders, whatever match you play, whether it's T20 or one-day or Test. As a batter, you need to be in the present and face each ball on merit and believe in your ability. I am glad that Yashasvi is able to do this on the ground and is proving me right.”
"I think this will be a very good start in international cricket, but he needs to keep it simple. As a player it is important to do your best for the team, scoring runs for the team is a job for any player, and then look ahead," the delighted coach concluded.
Jaiswal, who hails from a humble background, has spent his childhood days sleeping in tents in Azad Maidan.
He would occasionally sell ‘pani-puri’ to make ends meet. It was Jwala who spotted the youngster’s talent and took him under his wings. There was no looking back for the 21-year-old cricketer from there on.
The youngster became the fourth player from the rich cricketing reserves of Mumbai to feature alongside cricketers who scored a hundred on debut for India. Shreyas Iyer (vs New Zealand, 2021), Prithvi Shaw (vs West Indies, 2018) and India captain Rohit Sharma (vs West Indies, 2013) are the other names to achieve the feat.
