Watch: Emotional Yashasvi Jaiswal recollects long journey as he celebrates Player of the Match award

After a cracker of a debut in the first India vs West Indies Test, 21-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal opened up about his cricketing journey in a heart-warming video shared by the Indian cricket board. Jaiswal scored an impressive 171 runs, more than the 150 runs the entire host side scored in their first innings. He finished just 16 runs short of Shikhar Dhawan’s 187 runs debut in 2013 before edging an Alzarri Joseph delivery. He may not have become the highest-scoring debutant for India, but he became the one to do so outside the country.

A memorable walk back to the hotel room after receiving his first Player of the Match award for India 🏆

Yashasvi Jaiswal has well and truly arrived at the international stage 👏🏻👏🏻#TeamIndia | #WIvIND | @ybj_19 pic.twitter.com/WSkMbcSBSq

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 15, 2023

In the video, tweeted by BCCI, the youngster recollected his journey and hopes it goes a long way. “Hello. Kaafi acha laga (It’s an amazing feeling),” he started in Hindi after being adjudged as the Player of the Match. Jaiswal comes from a very humble background. He used to sell pani puri outside the famous Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and put up in tents in the humidity and rain of the city, and yet managed to find enough time to train for the game he loves the most. “Bahut hi lambi journey rahi hai (It’s been a long journey). I have imagined myself playing for India so many times,” said an emotional Jaiswal. “This is just the beginning and by god’s grace I want to continue this hard work. I want to keep contributing to the team. “Thank you so much for your love and support. “Kaafi yaadgaar rahega ye (This will be very memorable for me).” India won the first of two Tests series by an innings and 141 runs. India declared their first innings at 421/5, with a 271 lead. The hosts in response were bowled out for only 130, thus giving India a 1-0 lead in the series.