Yashasvi Jaiswal: The Journey of Dreams

image-lgdnf6p4Yashasvi Jaiswal after scoring a fifty (AP Photo)

Mumbai - The Financial Capital of India, fondly called as 'The City of Dreams' is a place which sees lakhs of people arriving daily with dreams in their eyes from different walks of life hoping to create a better future for themselves. However, the road towards that goal is not at all rosy and many people seem to lose hope along the way. 

Though there are some who stand tall despite numerous setbacks in their journey and it is these very people who carve a special place for themselves among millions and billions of people around them. One such story of immense grit and determination is of Yashasvi Jaiswal - The boy who had nothing but immense hunger and passion to play cricket at the highest level for his country.

Yashasvi's journey started from Uttar Pradesh where the young boy was constantly told by his seniors to go to Mumbai, if he wants to make it big in cricket. That made a lot of impact on the young mind of Yashasvi and soon at the age of just 10, he migrated with his father to Mumbai for pursuing his dream. The practice started at the famous Azad Maidan in Mumbai - A place where the competition is as high as it can get anywhere in the country and with it comes  a high quality of cricket too. Soon, Yashasvi started creating a name for himself with his batsmanship and made a big decision to stay in Mumbai despite his father deciding to go back to UP.

Survival Instincts - The Making of Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi was now all alone in a Metropolitan city like Mumbai where lakhs of people struggle to find the basic needs of life - Food, Shelter, Clothing. Little did young Yashasvi knew that he too would have to face all those struggles if he wants to just a survive in Mumbai and continue playing cricket. The young kid had to work in a dairy shop of his uncle to get a shelter and food  but when he could not deliver the work that was expected, Jaiswal was thrown out by his own uncle.

At that point in time, he had an option to go back to his hometown in UP to his parents and most of kids at that age would do that. However, Yashasvi decided to go to his cricketing battlefield - The Azad Maidan with no place to live and almost no money for food. He just had his cricketing skills to show his worth and it eventually got him a tent to live which was his reward for performing well in a cricket match.

The tent was alongside Azad Maidan and young Yashasvi would end up spending almost his whole time honing his skills. The rest of the time would go in fighting to meet his daily needs and just survive in a tent where there was no electricity, no toilet and no proper shelter to protect against the extremities of nature. He would score centuries in the day time and end up selling pani puris to those same young boys and girls he would get applause from in the morning.

Naturally, it was tough to sustain such a life for a long time but to Yashasvi's credit, he never gave up on cricket. Perhaps, in his mind, it was never an option.

Rising from the Ashes to create History

It was the month of December, 2013 that changed everything for Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jwala Singh, who ran a cricket academy in Santacruz turned out to be a saviour for Yashasvi and provided him all the necessities to pursue his cricketing dream. It was the same Azad Maidan where Jwala Singh first met Yashasvi and since then there has been no looking back. Yashasvi scored tons of runs in junior cricket and broke into India's U19 team.

He went onto become the leading run-scorer of the 2020 U-19 World Cup where India lost in the final. He scored 400 runs in 6 games, head and shoulders above the rest of the lot with second highest-scorer notching 286 runs. Even before playing that World Cup, Yashasvi made his first-class and List A debut for Mumbai, his long cherished dream. He announced his arrival on the senior stage with a magnificent double century against Jharkhand, becoming the youngest cricketer at that time to score a double century in List A cricket. He was just 17 years old then.

The opportunity to create an impression on the big stage soon came calling in 2020 with Rajasthan Royals in IPL. Yashasvi could not make much of an impact in his initial couple of years in IPL but set the stage on fire in domestic cricket. He became a permanent member of the Mumbai team across formats and worked hard on his game to make sure that he makes himself an all-format cricketer in tune with the modern cricket needs.

It showed in his performance at the backend of 2022 IPL season as he took the game on, right from the ball one, even outscoring Jos Buttler on occasions. He came into the 2023 season with even more confidence under his belt with runs across formats and just before the IPL, he smashed a double century and a century against M.P in an Irani trophy game. 

Ready for the Next Big Step?

He averages over 80 in first-class cricket and over 50 in List A cricket with a great strike rate as well and it seems that the man is just inching closer to the next big stage - The Indian Cricket Team. He has started the IPL 2023 with two fifties in three games along with a strike rate of around 165. 

It is this ability of Yashasvi Jaiswal to continuously evolve himself despite the challenges on his way and keep going, which makes him an inspiration for thousands and lakhs of people. Also, the way he has fulfilled dreams with challenges hovering all around, reflects how India is a developing country in true sense. He started his international cricketer on a positive note, thrashing the West Indies in their own backyard. A great Test run made sure that the Indian selectors picked him for the T20Is. Jaiswal's aggressive instinct at the top has helped the youngster cement his place at the top of the order.

With the T20I World Cup just around the corner, Jaiswal will be eager to book his ticket for the WC scheduled in USA/West Indies.