'Reminds Me of a Young Sachin Tendulkar': Ravi Shastri Heaps Praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal

Ravi Shastri praised Yashasvi Jaiswal, comparing his skills to that of cricket great Sachin Tendulkar after the youngster smashed an unbeaten 214 in India beat England by 434 runs in the third Test of the five-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, now known as Niranjan Shah Stadium, in Rajkot on Sunday.

Jaiswal’s unbeaten double century his second in as many games as his bruising innings’s highlight was when the 22-year-old hammered the 41-year-old bowling legend James Anderson for three consecutive sixes.

In the third over post lunch and 85th of the innings, Anderson missed his length to end up with a full toss which Jaiswal flicked over fine leg for a six. On the next, Jaiswal stepped out to hammer another six over extra cover.

As if to pile further misery, Jaiswal smacked Anderson over his head for the third six of the over.

Jaiswal put on 172 runs in almost no time for the unbeaten fifth wicket with Sarfaraz Khan, who notched up his second fifty of the game to reach 68 not out from only 72 balls with six fours and three sixes when skipper Rohit Sharma made the declaration call.

“Impressed with the way (Yashasvi) Jaiswal has stepped up today. Not just with the bat, but his performance on the field too. I think going forward, he could be one of Rohit’s go-to part-time options. The ball would be in his hands – whether it’s leg-spin, off-spin or medium-pace. Jaiswal reminds me of a young Tendulkar. Busy all the time,” said Shastri was quoted as saying on commentary by Hindustan Times.

“This is a classic example of the saying ‘If you believe in yourself, there is hope’. Nothing is impossible. That’s just a word. He will be constantly involved,” he added.

After India’s win, Yashasvi Jaiswal said that he was looking to score big runs as all his hundreds so far in his Test career have crossed the 150-run mark.

“I’m just trying to make it big whenever I’m set. In Test cricket you never know, I try to make sure I play as long as I can when I’m set,” Yashasvi Jaiswal said.

(With inputs from Agencies)