The birth of a promise that is stuck: Happy Birthday, Yashasvi Jaiswal

Soumyajit Dutta

Yashasvi Jaiswal [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]Yashasvi Jaiswal [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]

On December 28, 2001, a boy named Yashasvi Jaiswal was born in a small town in Uttar Pradesh in a peasant family. Little did anyone know that this day marked the birth of a promise, a promise of grit, talent, and a bright future in Indian cricket.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early days were full of struggles. At just 10 years old, he left home and moved to Mumbai to chase his cricket dream. Life was tough as he slept in a tent near Azad Maidan, worked at a dairy shop, and even sold ‘pani puri’ to make ends meet for himself and his family.

However, the young boy Yashasvi never gave up. He practised hard every day. His coach, Jwala Singh, saw his talent and took him in to train the southpaw into a cub ready to roar in his adolescence.

The early promise in Yashasvi Jaiswal 

Jaiswal’s hard work paid off quickly. In school cricket, he scored big runs, including a record 319 not out. He shone in domestic games for Mumbai, becoming the youngest to hit a List A double century at 17. In the 2020 Under-19 World Cup, he was the top scorer and Player of the Tournament, even as India finished runners-up.

The IPL spotted his spark. Rajasthan Royals bought him, and in 2023, he smashed the fastest fifty in IPL history off just 13 balls. Jaiswal won the Emerging Player award, and International cricket called soon.

Yashasvi debuted in Tests in 2023 against the West Indies with a stunning 171. He has also scored centuries in his first Test against Australia (161 in Perth) while smashing back-to-back double centuries against England in 2024. By late 2025, he has around 9 international hundreds, including in T20Is and ODIs, making him one of the few with tons in all formats.

Adding to his accolades, he was also part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup winning squad and won gold at the 2023 Asian Games, scoring a T20I hundred there.

The potential that is stuck...

Today, at 24, Yashasvi is in top form. A fearless opener with massive runs in Tests and explosive IPL knocks, yet he struggles to be the star that India deserves.

In white-ball cricket, in ODIs and T20Is, chances come sparingly. Bad luck or sheer favouritism by the management? Several cricket experts and fans point to BCCI politics as Jaiswal's T20I stats scream for more games, yet the management scarcely turns an eye to the talent that deserves more appreciation across formats.

Nevertheless, from a struggling kid in Mumbai to a world-beater, Yashasvi's story is evolving everyday, reaching the aspiration of every small kid with cricket. His birth brought a promise to Indian cricket, one that's shining brighter every year, only if the BCCI threw more light on it.