On a sultry afternoon in 2016 when Dilip Vengsarkar met a young and unassuming left-hander, he was almost certain that the teenager would make it big in world cricket. The former India captain, after all, has this knack of spotting talent in Mumbai cricket circles.
“My student Jwala Singh told me about Yashasvi Jaiswal and his humble background. After seeing Yashasvi, I was impressed and decided to sign him for Dadar Union Sports Club. Since then he has been scoring runs regularly,” Vengsarkar told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
“He was very disciplined and down to earth from the beginning and had the hunger to learn. Those helped him to reach the level where Yashasvi is today. He still has a long way to go. I hope he will continue like this and chase his dreams,” Vengsarkar said.
On Tuesday, Yashasvi scored unbeaten 105 for India colts in their U-19 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan in Potchefstroom, South Africa. India won by 10 wickets.
With one century, three half-centuries and an average of 156, Yashasvi is on a roll.
Sensing his capabilities, Rajasthan Royals picked him at the IPL auction this time for Rs 2.40 crore.
The youngster idolises Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Vengsarkar thinks he should follow Kohli and maintain the standards. “Qualities are there. But if he wants to reach the next level, he has to maintain his fitness.”
Vengsarkar had also asked his friends to help Yashasvi during Dadar Union’s tour to England back in 2017. “I have many friends in England. I told them about his background. They told him to score runs and that they would give him those many pounds. And they did that…
“But the main man behind Yashasvi is my 1995 batch student Jwala, who is now his coach. He is like his father and has protected him from all the difficulties,” Vengsarkar said.
Going by his form and the Indians’ winning streak, Vengsarkar is expecting India to win the U-19 World Cup. “Till date India have outplayed all their opponents. Hope they would continue like this and win the final,” he said.
Yashasvi is happy with his performance so far but he doesn’t want to remember what has happened in the past. His focus is to do well in the final. On Tuesday, he called his parents and shared his experience with them.
Yashasvi’s father Bhupendra Kumar runs a paint shop in Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh) and his mother works at a private school. His brother Tejashavi stays with his parents and two sisters. “He struggled a lot and we are happy that he is doing well now and everybody is talking about my son,” Bhupendra said.
Yashasvi’s coach too feels his work is not over yet. “He is happy with his performance. But at the same time he feels his job is not over. I spoke for a while after the semi-final. He has already started preparing for the final,” Jwala said.
What would be his message to the left-hander? “I just told him to enjoy the game. And take the game as another match, not as the U-19 World Cup final. I think that will help Yashasvi and the others,” he said.
