Yashasvi Jaiswal’s rags-to-riches tale from battling hunger to develop an insatiable hunger for runs

It seems another Virender Sehwag is in offing for team India in the form of explosive Yashasvi Jaiswal. In recent times, the southpaw has impressed one and all with his fearless and aggressive batting. The 22-year-old left-hander has overcome every possible fear in life to reach this stage.

While batting on 94 in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam on Friday, he walked down the track and lifted the ball over the long-on fence to bring up his century. Moreover, he also completed his double century in style after hitting an over boundary and boundary to Shoaib Bashir on Saturday. The explosive southpaw took 278 balls to complete his double century with the help of 19 fours and seven huge sixes.

After completing his double ton, the promising swashbuckler kissed the helmet and raised his arms multiple times in celebration perhaps thanking the sky that was his only ‘rooftop’ when he had no place to stay at the age of 10. 

 The explosive cricketer was born in a humble family in Suriyawan, a small town in Uttar Pradesh. His rags-to-riches story is one of its kind.

Jaiswal was only 10 when he moved to Mumbai to pursue cricket. However, the child had to struggle a lot to chase his dreams in the big city. Initially, a dairy owner provided him with a rooftop with the condition that the boy had to help him at his shop. However, Jaiswal was soon thrown out as he was mostly playing cricket and couldn’t help the dairy shop.

Subsequently, Jaiswal was on the streets again with a bat and a bag in his hands. He was left with no option but to move into one of the tents at Azad Maidan, a local ground in Mumbai. However, he was determined to continue pursuing the game. He lived alongside the groundsmen and sold pani puri in his spare time to earn his livelihood.

Jaiswal found it really tough to earn his livelihood and at the same time pursue his passion. However, they say-If there is a will, there is a way. Jaiswal was soon spotted by a Mumbai-based coach Jwala Singh. Jwala was stunned to see the youngster’s talent. He decided to train him along with providing food and accommodation. 

Initially, Jaiswal was afraid of failures, especially of getting out. However, with motivation from Jwala and his constant hard work, Jaiswal overcame it all.

Jaiswal got the first test of success when he smashed an astonishing 319 runs and took 13 wickets in a multi-day match of Haris Shield, one of the top school-level tournaments in Mumbai. He hasn’t looked back since then. He amassed plenty of runs at the school level and then for the Mumbai U-16 and U-19 teams. This led to his selection in the Indian U-19 team in 2018.

By becoming the highest run-getter he helped India to title victory in the 2018 U-19 Asia Cup. Buoyed by the success, the elegant batter finished as the highest scorer in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2020 as well. He also piled up runs for Mumbai Ranji team in various domestic tournaments. It led to his entry in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 2.4 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction 2020.

For someone who had lived in tents, this kind of money was mind-boggling. But life is a great teacher and it had taught the hardest lessons to young Jaiswal by then. After initial failures, he managed to find his feet in IPL gradually. IPL-2023 was the pick of the season for him. He garnered 625 runs in 14 matches and won the Emerging Player of the Season Award. He stunned one and all by scoring a 13-ball fifty in that mega event.

On the basis of his consistent performances in domestic cricket and IPL, he earned his Test cap in July 2023 against the West Indies. He scored a mammoth 171 in his first match, making him the 17th Indian cricketer to score a century on debut. Since then he is creating ripples in international cricket. The talented cricketer is being considered as one of the brightest prospects of Indian cricket.