Former Indian batter Hemang Badani showered praise on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for his fine knock of 87 runs off 107 balls in the first innings of the second Test match against England. Jaiswal has a fantastic record against England and he carried his form after scoring 101 runs in the opening Test.
Badani compared Jaiswal with former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who had a brilliant record in the red-ball version. Jaiswal has an average of more than 85 while playing against England and he has been consistently delivering for India as an opener.
“I would say he shouldn’t change anything. Many people might ask him to take his time. However, watching him, I am reminded of Viru. One is a left-hander and the other is a right-hander, both play the cut shot well, and play well on the off side,” Badani said on Sony Sports.
Jaiswal was dismissed by England captain Ben Stokes when he tried to play a cut shot but Delhi Capitals head coach noted that the same shot has helped the left-hander in scoring a lot of runs.
“There is a place for a batter like him or Rishabh Pant in today’s cricket. You have other batters who take their time. Sometimes, you might feel that he got out while batting well, but it’s his shot. He scored a lot of runs with the same shot. He hit four or five fours with the same shot in this innings,” Badani observed.
The former left-handed batter said he would tell Jaiswal to improve his shot selection but not his temperament.
“So, I won’t ask him to change his game. Continue playing carefree. It’s okay if you can improve your shot selection slightly, but I won’t allow you to change your temperament as a batter. The ball that he got out to was the only ball that kept slightly low, but it’s his normal shot,” he elaborated.
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper Saba Karim noted that England bowlers were tempting Jaiswal in playing the cut shot, which eventually led to his downfall.
“The ball wasn’t special. The ball was bowled way outside off-stump. They were attempting to tempt him for a long time. The shot he played, the body and feet didn’t go, only the bat went. You won’t remain in control if you play this kind of shot,” he said.
India ended the day’s play at 310-5.
