Yashasvi Jaiswal: Lived In Tents, Sold Panipuris, Now Part Of India`s Test Team For West Indies

Yashasvi Jaiswal had a terrific IPL 2023 in which he scored more than 600 runs in 14 matches. His ton vs Mumbai Indians was one of the best knocks of the season and that may have pushed his case for a place in the Test side.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is going to Caribbean as part of the Test squad. This is a dream come true for this young batter who hails from Uttar Pradesh. He came from UP to Mumbai to become a professional cricketer and play for India one day. That day seems to be very close now. On Friday, BCCI named Jaiswal in the squad for the Tests alongwith Ruturaj Gaikwad and Mukesh Kumar. Jaiswal has been rewarded for his excellent show in Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) in which he stroked 625 runs from 14 games at a brilliant average of 48.08.

Yashasvi comes from a humble background and when he moved to Mumbai to pursue his dream of playing cricket at an elite level, he had to live inside a dairy wherein he also did some part-time work. The owner of the dairy, one day, asked him to leave as he was not giving the required attention at the job. Yashasvi was literally on footpath before he found a new home: the tents outside Azad Maidan. He had a helpful coach in  Jwala Singh, who ran a cricket academy in Santacruz area of Mumbai. Jaiswal moved to a better house eventually but when he was living in the tents he would also try and help the residents of those tents, at times, to sell panipuris.

Jaiswal scored 319 runs in a Harry Shield school-level tournament and also picked 19 wickets. That performance turned him into a headline. Jaiswal's big moment came when he was selected for India's U19 World Cup squad in 2020. He scored 400 runs at an average of 133.33 and got picked by Rajasthan Royals in the auction for a sum of Rs 2.4 crore. The panipuri seller finally had money to buy himself a lavish home. 

But the purpose of his life was to play for India, the senior team. After low returns with the bat, season after season in IPL, he finally delivered in 2023. His knock of 122 off 62 balls stood out. In this innings, he brought up the hundred in just 53 balls. MI captain Rohit Sharma, also the Test captain of India, must have seen something different in this classy yet explosive opener. With Ruturaj choosing to get married right after IPL, Yashasvi was selected as his replacement for the backup opener's slot. And now Yashasvi is going to West Indies as part of the Test team to play 2 matches. Chances of his debut look high as Cheteshwar Pujara, India's No 3 for many years, has been dropped.

If Yashasvi plays and scored a century, it could be a start of a long career in white clothing, something every Indian kid (who follows cricket) dreams of.