Jayant Yadav - Team India's new wonder boy

He came. He saw and he made a place for himself in the hearts of millions. Jayant Yadav’s debut has been the kind that everyone dreams of when given a chance to represent his country. Dubbed as a bowling all-rounder, slotted to bat in at number 9, the rookie had already put on a display for everyone to applaud before even marking his bowling run-up.

Jayant played some simple yet classy shots in his first go at batting. His remarkable athleticism in the field had given India the important breakthrough via the run out of Haseeb Hameed when England were slowly building up a useful partnership.

Jayant- the bowler

The 26-year-old’s peach of a delivery to dismiss Ben Stokes was something he would cherish for a long time. The ball drifted in that made Stokes play the middle and off line and upon pitching, the ball turned sharply past the outside edge of Stokes and knocked the off stump. The all-rounder had been the most spirited batsman for the English and seeing him gutted and clueless after that delivery was a delight for the Indians.

The Haryana all-rounder was the perfect foil for the spin twins Ashwin and Jadeja. He got the vital scalps of Root, Stokes, Bairstow by some good bowling when the batsmen looked quite good in the middle.

Jayant- the batsman

The talented all-rounder played a couple of good knocks when his side was in a precarious position. The all-rounder’s solid batting technique is a valuable addition to India’s lower order.

In Mohali, India were in trouble at 204/6 and in the danger of conceding a vital first innings lead. The tall all-rounder was the part of the rescue act for India and in the process, lifted the team’s total to 417. Again in Mumbai, when Jayant came in to bat, India was trailing to England’s 400 by 36 runs. Getting a maiden test century and stitching a 241 run marathon partnership with Virat Kohli put India way ahead in the match.

Jayant- the allrounder in true sense

The rise of Jayant Yadav shows that Indian domestic circuit is on the right path. The Haryana player has been playing in the Ranji Trophy for long, honing his skills and waiting in the ranks for his chance. The day when the big moment arrived, he delivered.

The intellect that Jayant brings with himself to the team has also been acknowledged by Virat Kohli, the Indian test skipper. He said it was exciting for him listening to somebody coming new into the team and telling the skipper what field the bowler exactly wanted. This showed that the Haryana lad knew exactly what he was doing and believed in his cricketing abilities. 

The rise of Jayant Yadav

The 26-year-old’s transition from the India A and the domestic circuit has been seamless. Playing under the legends of the game like Virender Sehwag, captain of the Ranji team he played for and Rahul Dravid, the India A coach has helped the all-rounder cope up with the pressure and be in a good mental space when faced with the hardest of challenges.

The seriousness with which he plays the sport is evident when he puts emphasis on his fielding. Jayant belongs to the new generation of Indian cricketers who believe that a bad day at the office with the bat and ball could be made up for by contributing with some excellent catches and stopping runs in the outfield.

India v/s England	Batting	Bowling
at Vishakhapatnam	35 and 27*	1/38 and 3/30
at Mohali	55 and did not bat	2/49 and 2/21
at Mumbai	104 and did not bat	0/89 and 1/39

Challenges ahead for Jayant

The chance for Jayant to represent Team India was long due and the Haryana all-rounder grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Jayant, though, admits that he is a bowler first and then a batsman. An Indian spinner is always under huge expectations of bagging wickets at home without a failure.

Moreover, the unrelenting spin talents of Shahbaz Nadeem and Kuldeep Yadav will always be chasing Yadav and will try to topple him from that coveted Team India spot.

The thing in Yadav’s favour is that ‘well begun is half done’. The 22-year-old has done the first half pretty well. The skills that the tall lad brings into the team have been on a display for all to see, be it with the bat, ball, or in the field.

He is ready to put in the hard work to excel when bowling in undesirable conditions. The right-hand offspinner's long untiring spells in the Ranji Trophy and grind for taking out wickets on Indian flat pitches will help him to find out that perfect line and length to trouble batsmen in any conditions.

There will always be a parameter on how a spinner performs outside India. But that is for later when India travels, for now, Team India’s newbie can sit back and watch the peach of a delivery he bowled to Ben Stokes again and again and feel proud.