The Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed confidence in young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the Boxing Day Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Rohit assured that the team wouldn’t overwhelm Yashasvi Jaiswal with excessive advice but would focus on encouraging him to play his naturally aggressive and impactful game, which he described as “very, very dangerous”.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was instrumental in India’s victory in the Perth Test, scoring an outstanding 161 in the second innings. However, his form has dipped since, with a top score of just 24. He has faced some unfortunate dismissals off half-volleys on the leg stump, while the Australian bowlers have also exposed minor weaknesses in his technique against the moving ball.
During the press conference when Rohit Sharma was asked about Yashasvi Jaiswal, the skipper said, “Look, with Jaiswal, he is coming here for the first time. He has already shown what he is capable of. He has got so much talent. When you have a guy like that in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset. Let him be as free as possible. We try not to overburden him with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us. That’s how he has played his cricket, scored all of his runs in domestic and international cricket.”
He further added, “When you have a guy like that, you want to encourage him more and more so he goes out there and plays his game freely. He has got the ability to play all sorts of games — whether it’s the holding game or dominating the game. It’s just about trying to figure out certain areas of his game, which I am sure he is doing that along with the other guys. Guys who have played here before have been passing on their knowledge about what usually happens here.”
Rohit emphasised that playing in Australia brings consistency in terms of venues and opposition and all Jaiswal needs is to prepare specific plans and execute them effectively.
Rohit Sharma said, “Every venue here has different challenges, it’s about adapting to those challenges, playing on different pitches. Bowlers are the same. They have got four seamers and one off-spinner who play consistently for them. It’s about understanding your plans for them and doing that. You don’t want to be telling him too many things about his batting. We want him to play how he plays and that’s how, at the top, if he gets going, he can be very, very dangerous.”
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The fourth test match will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground from 26 December and in that match, Yashasvi will once again open Indian innings with KL Rahul.
