Jayant Yadav's coach hails 'welcoming' Virat Kohli for his guidance

While most players find it difficult to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket, Jayant Yadav has taken to the top level like fish to water. Part of the Indian side that completed a resounding win over England at the Wankhede, Yadav became the first Indian No.9 to score a Test hundred. 

The 26-year old, who replaced Amit Mishra in the team while reprising the role of the third spinner, is a throwback to old times. He is not flashy in his strokeplay, nor does he have an arsenal of variations up his sleeve. He quietly goes about his job, working the batsman out with his relentless off-spin, or grinding in the middle to give the team invaluable contributions down the order.

Virat Kohli was in full praise of Yadav’s efforts while speaking to the media ahead of the fourth Test. 

“I am very impressed. He is just two games old, I have never played with an all-rounder who I haven’t had to tell anything. He is pretty confident of his skill, and that comes with professionalism. He practices his skill very well, he is a great package and you will see a lot more match-winning performances from him. He has all the skills needed to be a very good Test player”.

Jayant’s childhood coach, RP Sharma, has acknowledged the importance of Kohli’s role in giving a bright start to the Haryana lad’s career. Speaking to CricketNext, Sharma said: “If you see his batting on Sunday, credit must be given to Kohli for guiding him from the word go. It wasn’t Jayant alone who was playing that knock. Kohli was advising him after almost every over and the confidence on Jayant’s face was a clear result of the captain backing him and believing in his abilities. Kohli was very welcoming when Jayant was brought into the national set-up. He made Jayant feel at home, even though the latter is playing his first international series”.

Kohli and Jayant’s partnership was instrumental in giving India a healthy lead in the first innings, after a mini-collapse in the middle threatened to derail their response to England’s 400. Yadav already has two first-class hundreds to his credit, but to score one against a world-class bowling attack, that too way down the order, required tremendous application and improvisation.

He might have been found wanting against the short ball, but the curve can only go up for Jayant, more so when there are supporting captains like Kohli to guide him in the dawn of his career. Kohli and Jayant used to play together for Delhi before the latter shifted allegiance to Haryana, making his name in the company of another Indian spinner, Amit Mishra. 

As Kohli pointed out at the end of the fourth Test, lower order contributions are something India hasn’t really been proud of. That trend is changing for the better, and if given the right direction, Jayant can go on to become an indispensable asset to the Test side.