Aakash Chopra urges Yashasvi Jaiswal to give himself time in 2nd Test against South Africa

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra wants Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to be more patient in the second Test match against South Africa, especially while playing against Marco Jansen. Jaiswal returned with scores of 12 and 0 in the opening Test match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and he was dismissed by Jansen in both innings.

Chopra noted that Jaiswal has struggled a bit against left-arm pacers as Mitchell Starc had also troubled him on the Australian tour. The renowned commentator highlighted that Jaiswal has the experience of playing IPL matches in Guwahati and he would look to make the most of his known conditions.

“He is having slight problems against left-armers. We have seen that with Yashasvi Jaiswal across three formats, both at home and away. The thing that goes in his favor is that he plays for the Rajasthan franchise, and he has even played IPL games in Guwahati. So, at least he will have a slightly better idea of the conditions,” Aakash Chopra said on Star Sports.

“I think he will continue to have an attacking approach, but he needs to give himself a little time, especially against Marco Jansen. How long a spell can Marco Jansen bowl? He can take the others to task, but Marco Jansen is a genuine threat. The road to improvement goes through acceptance. He will have to accept that this is a problem. There is no place for ego there,” he added.

On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim said it is imperative for a batter to be judicious in his shot-making as he grows in stature.

“The approach was fine, but as you grow as a batter, you also need to be more judicious in your shot selection. I can understand that you are a swashbuckling opener, you want to have that kind of an attacking mindset, but you also need to pick the right ball and the right surface to play such shots,” he said.

The former selector highlighted that Jaiswal got a beauty in the second innings but he was losing patience in the first innings.

“I didn’t see that with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s effort. He got a special delivery from Marco Jansen in the second innings, but whatever transpired in the first innings, this goes to show that he was losing patience. He wanted to get off the mark or play those big shots very early in his innings,” Saba observed.

India and South Africa will take on each other in the second Test at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, from Saturday onwards.