When you are truly passionate, no dream is too big – that’s the biggest takeaway from Yashasvi Jaiswal’s inspiring story. The Seventeen–year–old Yashasvi will represent India when he travels with the Under–19 team to Sri Lanka to play 2 Youth Tests and 5 Youth ODIs starting 17 July.
For three years, he lived with groundsmen in the Muslim United Club’s tent at the Azad Maidan ground in Mumbai. He had to, after he was thrown out of a dairy shop where he used to sleep. Yashasvi Jaiswal was just 11 years old then and the only thing that kept him going was a dream – to play cricket for India.
It’s six years later now and Jaiswal is 17 years old, a middle-order batsman with remarkable temperament and is ready to join the India Under-19 team for the Sri Lanka tour.
And once again, the credit goes to Jwala Singh, who has already mentored Prithvi Shaw, the most talented young batsman India is currently blessed with!
It was Jwala, who first saw the fire in Jaiswal’s eyes and the spring in his steps, as he wandered around for life’s basis necessities, plus an opening in cricket.
There was not enough food and no proper shelter, but the 17-year-old Jasiwal battled the odds and is now primed to make the India U-19 team for the tour of Sri Lanka, alongside a certain Arjun Tendulkar.
“I had gone to Azad Maidan (in South Mumbai) in 2013, when I saw him (Yashasvi) practising, when he was 11-12 years-old, when he was facing A division bowlers. A friend of mine told me that he plays well, but was going back to his village in Uttar Pradesh,” Jwala said. Jwala runs a cricket academy in suburban Santacruz.
The younger of two sons to a small-time shopkeeper in Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh, Jaiswal moved to Mumbai to pursue cricket. His father did not object since he found it hard to feed the family. An uncle, Santosh, in Mumbai, had a house in Worli, but it wasn’t big enough for another occupant. Santosh had requested the owners of Muslim United Club, where he was a manager, if the boy could stay in the tent.
Recalling the days gone by, Jwala added, “He had lot of problems and there was no one to support him. I asked where does he stay and was told that he stays at the tent of the Muslin United (Club). I was shocked, and after he was done with batting, I spoke to him.
[7/5, 16:01] Pushpendra Albe: “He told me that he was from Bhadoi and stayed here (at the tent) and was heading back as he felt that his cricket was over.
“I asked him to meet me. He showed me his (cricket) file and (it) looked impressive. I told him that I will make arrangements for his stay.”
Then on, life took a turn for better for Jaiswal.
“From that time, his parents have never interfered. I took a lot of extra efforts on him when I felt that he could make big. I worked on his batting. He did not have strength.
He had a fear that he won’t play cricket and it was important to drive out the fear,” the coach added about the boy who hails Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh and is one of the two sons of a shopkeeper.
Once he discovered Jaiswal, Jwala said, he tried to make the middle-order batsman technically, mentally and physically strong.
“I took him to Juhu beach for fitness. He was an under-privileged child, as he did not get proper diet. There were also other issues, which needed to be worked on.
“We worked on him for hours and now he has become stable. He was handling other issues and he too worked hard on it.”
Jwala said the U-19 selection could be a big break in Jaiswal’s journey.
“He is talented player. At the end of the day, he is just 17 and if he performs well, he will go ahead. He has special ability,” said Jwala.
Yashasvi now lives in a chawl (tenement) in Kadamwadi. With his upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, the dream the teenager brought to Mumbai has finally come true.
“You are talking about mental pressure in cricket? I have faced it daily in my life for years. Those have made me strong. Scoring runs is not important. I know I will score and take wickets. For me, whether I get the next meal or not, that’s important,” he tells.
