New Delhi: Yashasvi Jaiswal isn’t the future of Indian cricket, but instead the ‘present’, according to former India women’s team captain Anjum Chopra. The 22-year-old has been the talk of the town lately, courtesy of his daddy hundreds against England in the ongoing series. His maiden double hundred came in the second Test when he scored 209 in Visakhapatnam. The southpaw bettered his Vizag show with a 214 not out in Rajkot. In both the matches, India won the games, thus taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
Jaiswal came into the limelight during the 2020 U-19 World Cup when he emerged as tournament’s top run-getter despite India finishing runners-up against Bangladesh in the final. Thereafter he maintained his consistency in domestic cricket and eventually earned a place in the Indian team last year against West Indies. He got a hundred on his Test debut. Chopra opined the fear of getting replaced if he fails, brings the best out of Jaiswal whenever he takes the field.
“He is the present of India. In the last six-to eight months since his debut till today, he played quality shots, quality innings. (In second innings in third Test) He got injured and couldn’t bat. He came out the next day and look at the kind of innings he played,” Chopra told India.com in an exclusive interaction.
“He is battling for that opening spot. The moment he finds his form doesn’t go his way, there is always a person standing behind his name, replacing him. So that’s the kind of hunger he has displayed, that is the kind of platform Indian cricket provides,” added Chopra, a cricketer-turned-commentator.
The absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul has also been a blessing in disguise for a lot of Indian youngsters in the series. While the duo absence resulted in Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan making their Test debuts, but also brought out a sense of responsibility from the players like Jaiswal and Shubman Gill.
Gill in particular was at the receiving end of the social media backlash for not performing at his new position in the longest format. The Punjab batter proved everyone wrong with a 104 and 91 in the second and third Tests respectively.
Speaking on Sarfaraz, Chopra believes the challenge for the 26-year-old lie on how he makes himself believe that he belongs at this level. Making his debut in Rajkot, Sarfaraz displayed enough maturity to score 62 and 68 not out, making his contribution count in India’s 434-run win.
“(His) first step is done. He has earned his spot much like others. For him, the first thing is to make his presence in the playing XI. He has done that. It’s about he is there to stand in the Indian squad for a longer time. It’s more of him making himself belief that he belongs to this place,” Chopra added.
With the Women’s Premier League (WPL) season 2 coming up in less than a week; Chopra already had her prediction hats on. Asked about who she considers as favourites for WPL 2024, Chopra had the answer on her lips. “Mumbai Indians start favourites because they are defending champions.
“But at the same time watch out for RCB too. I would also want to see how Shreyanka Patil performs this season because she has made her name from the WPL itself. Eyes will also be on the likes of Amanjot Kaur and Simran Bahadur,” she concluded.
