‘Just like Dada…’: Former India all-rounder compares Yashasvi Jaiswal with Sourav Ganguly

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan heaped praise on young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal. The India opening batter has made a solid start to his international cricket having made his debut in the West Indies last year. The left-handed batsman has piled up 637 runs in six Tests at an average of 57. This includes two centuries and as many half centuries. Jaiswal has been impressive even in T20I cricket where he has scored 502 runs in 17 matches, including a century. He enjoys an impressive T20I strike rate of 161.93.

Jaiswal has been one of the stars with the bat in the ongoing Test series against England. He starred with a solid knock of 80 in the first Test in Hyderabad and then followed it up with a maiden double hundred in Vizag in the second Test. Jaiswal’s crucial knock played a key role in guiding India to a convincing 106-run victory.

Speaking to a group of school students on Star Sports, Pathan was chuffed with the way Jaiswal has started his career in international cricket. Pathan also spoke about Jaiswal’s strong off-side game, drawing parallels to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.

“There’s one player who I’m excited about, he is Yashasvi Jaiswal. Kamal ka player hai. He possesses the off-side game, just like Dada (Sourav Ganguly). Just like we used to see him and say, ‘He’s the king of the off-side’. If he goes on to play for the next 10 years, we will speak about his game as much as we spoke about Dada’s. Jaiswal is that kind of a player,” Pathan said.

Jaiswal will be important for India again when action resumes between the two sides for the third Test in Rajkot. With the Test series tied at 1-1, the two teams will be eyeing a much-needed victory to claim a lead. The next Test is scheduled to start from February 15 in Rajkot.

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Virat Kohli will not be able to take part in the remainder of the series and KL Rahul has also been ruled out. Indian top order, comprising big names like Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will now have to stand up and score big runs in the remaining fixtures against the Ben Stokes-led side.