On Saturday (February 3), 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed his maiden double century in Test cricket against England in Visakhapatnam, becoming the third-youngest Indian player to reach the mark. Amid showers of praise for the youngster, former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir asked the media not to overhype the youngster.
Jaiswal is playing his sixth Test match after making his debut last year against West Indies. His double century came at a time when batters were struggling to score runs, with the second-highest score being 34 runs by Shubman Gill.
From 290 balls, Jaiswal scored 209 runs with the help of 19 boundaries and seven sixes. Gambhir, who was the first Indian left-hander to hammer 200 in Tests, congratulated the Mumbai batter but also warned the media to not make Jaiswal look like a hero.
I want to congratulate the youngster for his achievement but, more importantly, I want to tell everyone that let the young man play. We have seen in the past that in India we have a habit, especially the media, to overhype their achievements and give them tags and make them look like heroes. Gambhir told PTI during an interaction
Gambhir added that as a result of the pressure of expectation, the players fail to play their natural game. He concluded by saying that everyone should give the youngster room to grow and enjoy his cricket.
Yashavsi Jaiswal falls cheaply in the second innings
Yashasvi Jaiswal couldn’t emulate what did in the first innings, for he departed for a low score in the second innings. After his innings helped India post 396 runs on the scoreboard, Jasprit Bumrah wreaked havoc to bundle out the visitors for 253 runs with his six-wicket haul.
Soon India got the chance to bat on Day 2. Jaiswal played 27 balls to score 17 runs with four boundaries before he was sent to the pavilion by James Anderson.
The veteran English bowler aimed for the off stump but the ball hit the outside edge of Jaiswal’s bat and flew toward Joe Root at first slip, and he made no mistake there. In the first Test, Jaiswal scored 80 and 15 runs.
More must-reads: