“That for me was the highlight” - Vikram Rathour opens up on what stood out for him in Yashasvi Jaiswal’s debut Test ton
Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour stated that the manner in which Yashasvi Jaiswal reined in his natural game and battled out tough periods was the highlight of his debut hundred in Test cricket. He made the observation while referring to a period of play on Day 2 of the first Test against West Indies in Dominica when Jaiswal scored 20-odd runs off 90 balls.
Jaiswal, 21, made a sensational Test debut, scoring 171 off 387 balls, a knock that featured 16 fours and a six. He was named Player of the Match for his fantastic effort as India won the Test by an innings and 141 runs.
At a press conference on Sunday, Rathour shared his thoughts on Jaiswal’s debut knock in Test cricket.
Praising his ability to adapt to the situation, the batting coach opined:
"On the second day [of the Test match], he scored some 20 runs off 90 balls before lunch. I think that for me was the highlight of the innings. Somebody who is able to do that, who can play against his character, his normal game, get through that phase and then score big runs, it was phenomenal to watch.”
Rathour went on to predict:
“Absolutely no doubt that he has great potential and great future with the Indian team in all three formats.”
Jaiswal was handed a Test cap on the back of some stupendous performances in domestic cricket. He also had a sensational run for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2023, even creating a record for the fastest fifty in the T20 league - 13 balls.
“He definitely has the potential” - Rathour feels Jaiswal has the talent to play for India for a long time
While analyzing Jaiswal’s batting talent and temperament, Rathour opined that the young left-hander has it in him to play for India for the next decade.
Praising the batter, he said:
"I've been a selector before, so whenever you pick a player you should pick him with the intent that he will play for India for the next 10 years. He definitely has the potential. For me the most important thing (even though) I haven't worked with Yashasvi before, was that I had seen him scoring runs at the IPL, you saw how dynamic a batsman he is, the kind of stroke-player he is. But he managed to change the game according to the situation of the team.”
Jaiswal has the experience of 16 first-class matches in which he has scored 2016 runs at an average of 84, with 10 hundreds and two fifties.