Credit: Twitter
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been in the headlines as he scored his first IPL hundred against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 30. Even though Rajasthan lost the match Yashasvi Jaiswal was adjudged the Man of the Match for his knock of 124 off 62 balls. The official broadcasters of the IPL, Star Sports recently posted a video, where Yashasvi narrated his hard-fought cricketing journey.
The opener has become the top run scorer in this IPL season after his maiden IPL century with 428 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 159.70 and an average of 47.56.
The left-hander first came into the limelight during the 2020 U19 world cup, when he hit a century in the semifinals against Pakistan to guide India to the finals and was also named in the team of the tournament. The youngster has stellar numbers in the Ranji Trophy too, amassing 1845 runs in 15 games at an average of 80.21 for the Mumbai team. Life hasn’t always been fair to the talented youngster as he grew up in a financially backward family and struggled in his initial years.
In his latest interview with Star Sports, he elaborated on his life before being a star. The Rajasthan Royals player moved out of his home town Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh when he was just ten years old. The player talks about how he struggled at a young age but remained firm on his goal of being the player he wanted to be. Yashaswi lived with his uncle in Mumbai and got a job at a nearby dairy. He couldn’t manage cricket practice and the job simultaneously so he was fired.
He moved in with the groundsmen who used to stay near the ground in a roadside tent. Yashaswi said, "There were a lot of problems staying in a tent, especially in the rain, there are no lights there, no proper washroom." He knew his situation at home and started to work at a Pani Puri stall in the evenings after practice but he couldn’t do it as his teammates came to the stall and he was too embarrassed to serve them. His life turned around when he met his coach Jwala Singh who also offered him to stay at his place.
Watch the video here:
All his hard work has now paid off as he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2019 auction for INR 2.4 crore and now is one of their most important players. The youngster is a great prospect for the Indian team as well which is Jaiswal’s ultimate goal.
