Why debutant Jayant Yadav would have wanted two names on his Indian jersey
A heartwarming gesture was on display during the final ODI between India and New Zealand at Visakhapatnam, when the Indian team walked out with their mothers’ names printed on their back. The action served as a powerful statement to propel change to the cause of women in India.
It was also a big day for Jayant Yadav, the little-known Haryana off-spinner who made his way into the national side, replacing Hardik Pandya in the playing XI. A proven performer in the domestic circuit, the 26-year old was handed the ODI cap by former India opener Virender Sehwag.
As the teams walked out to the middle for the national anthems, each Indian player proudly sported their mother’s names on their jerseys. Yet, instead of one, Yadav would have wanted two names on the back of his brand-new jersey.
In a tweet posted after the start of the match, Anirudh Chaudhry, former Team India manager and the current BCCI treasurer, revealed the role of Jyoti Yadav, Jayant’s second mother, in shaping Jayant’s career. His real mother was Lakshmi, whose name Jayant sported on the back of his jersey during the fifth ODI. Lakshmi passed away in a plane crash 17 years ago. Jyoti Yadav nurtured and brought Jayant up as her own son, helping him in every which way possible as he pursued his aspirations of being a top-flight cricketer.
Now that he has managed to realize his dream, he would have wanted to pay respect to both women.
Born in Delhi, Yadav plies his trade at the domestic level for Haryana. Apart from being an off-spinner in the classic mould, he is also an able lower-order batsman, as was on display when he scored a double century against Karnataka, sharing a record-breaking 392-run partnership with leggie Amit Mishra.
He was bought by Delhi Daredevils before the start of IPL 2014, but couldn’t get much game time, managing just eight matches across the next two editions. Yet, he continued to grow at the domestic level, picking up 33 wickets in the Ranji Trophy in the 2014-15 edition and also going on to represent the India-A side as well.
After his first ODI , he conceded how he wanted to have Jyoti Yadav’s name on the jersey, but a mix-up resulted in only Lakshmi’s name being printed on his back.
He might be sporting a single name, but Jayant has surely made his family, and both Jyoti Yadav and Lakshmi proud.
Here’s his message after the match:
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