From pani-puri vendor to IPL star: A Wknd interview with cricketer Yashasvi Jaiswal

His batting has taken on the quality of an unending fireworks display. Bowling attacks are being singed. In just his third season in the IPL, Jaiswal is rubbing shoulders with the likes of Faf du Plessis, one of the greatest T20 batters of all time, and the outrageously talented Shubman Gill, at the top of the league’s scoring charts.

There is an air of invincibility around the 21-year-old from Mumbai. He is, by a mile, the find of the season.

Jaiswal’s hurricane strike rate of 165-plus is bettered only by Suryakumar Yadav, on the list of the season’s top 20 run-getters. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener notched his first T20 century, a furious 124 off 62 balls scored at a strike rate of 200, on April 30, playing against the likes of Jofra Archer, Cameron Green and Piyush Chawla of Mumbai Indians.

On May 11, playing against Kolkata Knight Riders, he hit the fastest half-century ever scored in the IPL, off just 13 balls, en route to an unbeaten 98 that lit up Eden Gardens.

Signed by RR in 2020 after a stellar Under-19 World Cup campaign where he was the top scorer in the tournament (India lost the final to Bangladesh), and a domestic season where he became the youngest List A double centurion in history, Jaiswal is now in the middle of that most thrilling thing in sport: a breakthrough season.

Six ft tall, sporting a military-style buzz cut, he is a measured speaker with a calm aura that is in direct contrast to the mayhem he unleashes on the field. The secret to his success, he says, is that there is no secret at all. If there is one thing that gives him an edge, it’s patience, he adds. Excerpts from an interview.

I don’t feel anything is different, I have been playing for a while, and it’s just process over the years. It’s still not where I want it to be. I’m happy with what I’ve done, but there’s still a lot to gain and look forward to.

The change is in terms of experience, understanding the game, being familiar with your teammates and your opponents.

What is the process of learning like for you?

The process is to stick to the daily routine: practice, workouts, recovery, all of it. I am not in a rush. You have to be patient and trust your skill and trust that (success) will come when it is meant to and you need to keep doing the same things for a long time. This was an important realisation for me. It is not easy to do the same things again and again repetitively. Cricket is all about that. If you have to be consistent (on the field) you have to be consistent in your practice. It’s a challenge, to keep putting yourself in that situation and keep fighting, again, again, and again…

I am not saying you don’t give yourself a break. You need to give yourself a break when you need it. When I did not have experience, I did not understand this. I would keep pushing. Then I got to understand myself better.

I think that’s what I am trying to do… trying to know myself.

I have been alone a long, long, time. I would like to be independent, and I would like to take my own decisions and learn from that. If I am playing a game, whether it’s the IPL or some other match, in the end you are alone in the room and you have to talk to yourself. And what you are saying to yourself at that moment, whether you did well or you didn’t, that’s most important. In the end it’s about trusting yourself.

You are showing us a lot of different sides to your batting. A lot of textbook shots, but also a lot of big hitting, whether it’s pace or spin…

I worked a lot on my skills, on my game; on different kinds of situations, spinners, fast bowlers…Me and Sir (Zubin Bharucha, development and performance director at Rajasthan Royals) worked really hard together. He really guided me on how to express myself in high-pressure situations.

We created scenarios, worked really hard for hours on end. I have tried everything: trained in Guwahati, Rajasthan, Talegaon, Nagpur, Mumbai, for different conditions.

Of course I have been playing a lot of domestic cricket so I know the wickets (around India) and what shots I can play where, and what shots I can’t play. I’ve worked with left arm spinners, offspinners, left arm pace and right arm pace. All of this is about acquiring skills, and getting the confidence to be in high-pressure situations. I want to know I have done the preparation, done everything I could.

What’s it like opening with Joss Buttler, one of the greatest limited-overs batters ever?

Amazing. We talk a lot. During the matches, during practice, even just outside playing environments. He is like a brother. He guides me. A really wise man, and I’m really happy to be able to play with him. Sometimes you can’t express certain things that you realise or experience; with him, it’s like that. It’s the way we enjoy the moment when we go out to play, enjoy every small thing.

There is a lot of learning when it comes to experience and approach. The great players, how they look at the game, their focus and discipline, and the way they enjoy the game. In the end, it’s just a game.

You’ve clearly been working on your fitness

You think so?

Yeah, it shows.

Then you’ve got your answer, I guess (laughs).

Fitness is critical now. I enjoy doing it. There is always something to improve. I always have pain somewhere in my body. As a sportsperson, you can’t be free of all niggles. I know I have to put my body in really bad situations. So, I know I have to work carefully with it, eat properly, train properly. The amount of cricket we play, you have no option but to do your fitness work, otherwise you won’t be able to play. Different formats, different places, different intensities. A five-day game, a One-Day game, a T20, they all have different demands.

It takes time. Slowly you learn about your body, you get more experience, and you learn what you need to do. The domestic season taught me a lot, about both mental and physical toughness.

I know the story of how you came to Mumbai when you were just 10 years old, but I am unsure as to how it happened. Did you come alone? Was there a plan?

No, my father brought me here. Maybe my father had a plan, but I did not know about it.

I can’t remember whether I was 9 or 10. I was thinking only one thing: I want to play for India. Whatever I need to do, I will try and do it.

I would see my father getting excited watching matches on TV, and I wanted that he would one day get excited seeing me on TV as well, and scream for me. I was playing well as a kid, but there weren’t that many opportunities in my village.

So, you came to Mumbai because it is like the epicentre of cricket in India. Then what happened?

My father brought me to Mumbai and left me with my uncle. For a few days I stayed there. But you know, after some time, you are a guest, you have to leave. Then I started working in a dairy and staying there. Then I got the opportunity to stay in a tent (at Azad Maidan), so I took it. I was told if I did well in some games, I could stay at the Muslim United club tents. I was very happy. It was ideal for me. I feel like all cricketers would have loved it. I lived there for three years.

You were just a child, away from family. Wasn’t it difficult for you?

Sometimes yes, I was scared. When my father left, it was very hard for me at first. After that, I was okay. Slowly I got used to it. I got busy. I started enjoying the game. I got to know all the people who lived around the tent.

Was money a problem?

Money was important, but I did not think about it. Whatever I had, I was happy. I am still happy.

I always thought, ‘I will manage.’ I knew if I was playing a match, they would tell me, ‘Go eat what you want in the khao gully’… for me it was the best, I would eat everything.

It was a good feeling that I was working and earning. I did everything — umpiring, scoring. If you rolled the wicket, you got ₹40. I worked really hard, and I value it and I am thankful. I keep everything carefully and nicely, my kit bag, even my small socks.

When I did not have gloves, or bats, or helmets, shirts, I would ask the seniors and I would get it. So now, if someone asks me for something, if I have it, I will give it. Because I know what the value of each of these things is.

You sold panipuri in the evenings as well…

That was really hard for me, but I don’t regret it. I think of it as something difficult I did, but that (thought) came much later. At that time, I was a kid, I enjoyed all of it. People say struggle, but for me it was a good life. And it has given me a lot — independence, the ability to look after myself, a fighting spirit, finding ways out of hard situations. So, sometimes when I don’t play well, or I’m down, I know how to accept it, absorb it.

You’ve said that you used to watch the lights at Wankhede Stadium from your tent at Azad Maidan and wonder if you would play there one day. Just a few days ago, you hit your first IPL century at the Wankhede. What did that feel like?

It was emotional for me. It was a wonderful feeling and I was really proud of myself. (After the century) I saw myself as a child standing there and watching the lights. Even now it’s in my mind. It’s a nice feeling. It will always be in mind, and it always gives me confidence and that fighting spirit that, whatever situation may come, I will be ready.

But that (century) is now in the past and I want to focus on the present. Later that day itself, I told myself, it’s okay, it’s done.