India vs New Zealand: Yashashvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma© AFP
India skipper Rohit Sharma is not at all surprised by Yashasvi Jaiswal's wonderful run in Test cricket, a result of the young left-hander's insatiable hunger to learn and succeed at the highest level. Since making his debut in mid-2023, Jaiswal has made 1217 runs in 11 Tests with three hundreds and at a stunning average of 64.05. Jaiswal had a breakout series against England earlier this year when he amassed over 700 runs across five Tests.
"I am not surprised at all because the guy has got real talent. He has got the game to play in all sorts of conditions," Rohit said in the pre-match press meet here on Tuesday.
"Obviously, very new to international cricket right now, so, very hard to judge. But he has got all the ingredients for success at this level,” he added.
But the initial signs that Jaiswal showed have left Rohit a pleased man.
"He is somebody who wants to learn the game, learn about batsmanship. When a youngster comes into the team, his mindset is quite critical.
"He always wants to improve, and is not happy with what he has achieved and which is obviously a great start to a young career. We found a great player. Hopefully, he can continue to do what he has done in the last year or so."
Over the years, Indian cricket has seen many wonderful talents go astray and fail to achieve the deserved heights, and Rohit offered a word of caution to Jaiswal.
"It is just about how he manages himself in the next couple of years. But what he has shown us in this brief period of time, you can bet on him to do wonders for the team.
"He has come through the ranks. Hopefully, what he has been doing, I hope he continues to do that," he said.
Rohit said Jaiswal has also given India a different option being a left-hander.
"He has played a lot of domestic cricket, under-19 cricket. He has succeeded as well, and that is why he is playing for India. It does obviously well for our team as well him being a left-hander, being an aggressive batter,” he added.