"That confidence, fighting spirit, struggle in my everyday life at that point in time has helped me a lot" - Yashasvi Jaiswal
Rajasthan Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has credited his early struggles and hardships for the recent rise of his batting form. The 21-year-old said he now trusts himself to bounce back well no matter how tough the circumstances are.
While the 21-year-old has been racking up runs in the domestic circuit, he has been performing well in the IPL too. Jaiswal found his feet in the last two seasons and has taken his game to a different level this year, accumulating 428 runs in nine games at 47.56.
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Speaking to the Times of India, Jaiswal reflected on his early struggles and suggested that those moments have motivated him to keep emerging stronger than ever. He said:
"I think that confidence, fighting spirit, struggle in my everyday life at that point in time has helped me a lot. It has come from there only. It is because of that I just keep fighting and always think about winning. Nothing else.
"It has always given me that confidence, belief, and trust that I can do things, that I can work hard that I can keep pushing myself as I've done it before. I will try to do it again and again and again."
The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer went on to credit RR's director of performance Zubin Bharucha and head coach Kumar Sangakkara for helping him refine his game. He continued:
"I think I've been able to improve my game a lot due to Zubin sir. We've worked together a lot for the last three to four years. I keep working with him, he knows me better than I do myself, I guess! And of course, I need to credit Sanga sir as well. Because we keep chatting about situations and the wicket and what can we plan against different kinds of bowlers."
Jaiswal's breakthrough innings in the IPL came against the Mumbai Indians a few days ago when he hammered 124 against the likes of Jofra Archer, Riley Meredith, and Piyush Chawla. Despite the innings coming in a losing effort, he earned the Player of the Match award for the same.
"This is about how I'm keeping myself strong" - Yashasvi Jaiswal on his power-hitting
With Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma hailing his power-hitting ability, Jaiswal said:
"This is about how I'm keeping myself strong. I trust myself, I believe in myself, in the sense that whatever will come my way, I'll do my best and I'll keep believing in myself that I can do this."
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When asked about his expectations ahead of India's upcoming tour of the West Indies, the 21-year-old conceded that his entire concentration is in the process.
"Everything depends on God. He will decide everything and I've a firm belief in him. I'm just focused on my processes. The rest will be taken care of by the others, over which I've no control."
The BCCI selection committee are likely to name a second-string squad for the three ODIs and five T20Is.