Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar heaped rich praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal after the India U19 star shone with a match-winning hundred vs Pakistan in the U19 World Cup semi-final.
Shoaib Akhtar said there is a lesson for every aspiring Pakistan cricketer in Yashasvi Jaiswal’s rags-to-riches story. Akhtar said he was very impressed with India’s ‘mature’ performance in the semi-final and predicted that Jaiswal will certainly play for the senior Indian team in the near future.
Akhtar’s comments come after Yashasvi Jaiswal hit an unbeaten 105 in India’s 10-wicket win over Pakistan in U19 World Cup semi-final in Potchefstroom on Tuesday.
India pacers Kartik Tyagi and Sushant Mishra picked up 5 wickets between them while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi shone to restrict Pakistan to 172. Yashasvi Jaiswal also got the big wicket of Pakistan opener Haider Ali, snapping a fledging stand with captain Rohail Nazir.
Akhtar shed light on Jaiswal’s struggles and said the 18-year-old Mumbai batsman focussed on excellence to find success in his nascent cricket career.
“Congratulations to the Pakistan U19 team for reaching the semis. It was a good effort but not good enough to take you to the finals. Pathetic fielding by Pakistan, absolutely pathetic. Despite being U19, you can’t put in dives while fielding? You did not deserve to be in the finals but on the other end congratulations to India for winning the semis,” Shoaib Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.
“They won it and won it comprehensively. Indian team deserves praise and they must be told that there are some players in your team who will surely represent India in the future. I am very happy to see that India’s future is in the right hands.
