Melbourne [Australia], December 24 (ANI): India skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday heaped praise on youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ability to play “all sorts of games” and backed him to come over his recent failures and deliver with his batting in the next game against Australia.
Jaiswal impressed with a remarkable 161 off 297 deliveries in the second innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. However, since then, the 22-year-old has failed to make a mark, frequently registering ducks or single-digit scores. He has particularly struggled against ace pacer Mitchell Starv, with whom the youngster engaged in banter in the first game.
In 17 Tests, Jaiswal has scored 1,600 runs at an average of 53.33, with four centuries and eight fifties, and best score being 214*. In 14 Tests this year, Jaiswal has made 1,312 runs at an average of 52.48, with three centuries and seven fifties.
In seven matches away from home, Jaiswal has scored 509 runs in 13 innings at an average of 42.41, with two centuries and a fifty. His best score is 171.
At home, Jaiswal has scored 1,091 runs in 10 Tests and 19 innings at an average of 60.61, with two centuries and seven fifties. His best score is 214*.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rohit said that Jaiswal had already shown what he is capable of even though it’s his first tour of Australia.
“Look, Jaiswal, I mean, obviously he’s coming here for the first time, and he’s already shown what he’s capable of, you know, he’s got so much talent, and when you have a guy like that in your squad, in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset, let him be as free as possible and not overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, and that’s how he’s played his cricket, and that’s how he’s scored all of his runs in domestic cricket, in international cricket. And when you have a talent like that, all you want to do is encourage more and more to make sure that he just goes out there and plays his game freely more than anything else,” Rohit said.
The skipper added that Jaiswal has the capability to dominate the game and can also hold the game.
“I think he’s got the ability to play all sorts of games, whether it is a holding game, whether it is trying to dominate the game, it’s just about trying to figure out certain areas of his game, which I’m pretty sure he’s doing, along with the other guys, the guys who have played here before have been passing on some knowledge about what usually happens. Every venue here has different challenges, so it’s just about adapting to those challenges, playing on different pitches. The bowlers are the same, they’ve got four seamers in their squad, and one off-spinner, obviously, they are the ones who play consistent cricket for them,” he added.
Rohit backed the youngster and said that he wants him to play the way he plays.
“So it’s just about understanding what they usually do and what are their plans against certain batters when we come out to bat, and then just going out there and doing their thing. Like I said, with someone like Jaiswal, you don’t want to be telling him too many things about his own batting. We want him to play the way he plays, and that’s how at the top he can be very, very dangerous,” he further added.
As the series stands level at 1-1 after the drawn game at Brisbane, both India and Australia will try to gain the upper hand at the Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MVG) starting December 26.
India Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Australia Squad: Pat Cummins (C), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (VC), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (VC), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
HINDI, MARATHI, GUJARATI, TAMIL, TELUGU, BENGALI, KANNADA, ORIYA, PUNJABI, URDU, MALAYALAM
For more details and packages
