0, 161, 0, 24, 4, 4*—That’s how Yashasvi Jaiswal’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy has gone. In six innings, he’s entered double digits once and has twice departed for a duck. Despite averaging under 40, he remains the third-highest scorer. This is when things haven’t gone his way. Had luck been on his side, we might have seen the opener score more.
His performance disappoints many. That’s because of the standards the 22-year-old has set in his young career. That 161 he scored in Perth remains his lowest score when Jaiswal has hit a hundred in Test cricket. 171, 209, and 214* are his other scores whenever he’s received triple digits.
What’s gone with Yashasvi Jaiswal in BGT?
There were big expectations. Jaiswal’s not failed, but he hasn’t succeeded either. So, what must he do to get things back on track? Cheteshwar Pujara feels he needs to slow things down. Not to aim for the skies when entering the middle but take his time and then go about his business as he usually does.
“He needs to give himself a bit more time; the way he is playing, he is trying to rush things; he is trying to play shots a bit more. He should only play shots if he is quite sure about it, especially in the first 5-10 overs, because it seems that he is in a hurry to score runs; he wants a quick start, and he wants to score those first 15-20 runs quickly,” Pujara told Star Sports.
Learn from Sehwag, Pujara’s advice to Jaiswal
He cited Virender Sehwag as an example for Jaiswal. The two openers may not look similar, but their attacking style often sees them talked about in the same line. Pujara feels Jaiswal should look at what Sehwag used to do, i.e., attack when the ball is in his arc and otherwise let it go.
“When you are an opener in Test cricket, then you don’t go out searching for the ball; you play the deliveries on merit. Even if you are an aggressive player, even Virender Sehwag was an aggressive player, but he used to play shots only when the ball was pitched in his zone,” he added.
