With century on debut, Yashasvi Jaiswal shows he belongs on the Test stage

The opportunity to make his Test debut came to Yashasvi Jaiswal not by design, but by default. It’s not that the 21-year-old has not put in the hard yards in domestic cricket. He has 1845 runs in 15 First-Class matches at an average of 80.21. But it took more than his average and runs for him to make it into the Team India Test side and also get a starting spot.

IND vs WI: Jaiswal’s patient debut ton helps India surge ahead

His selection to the squad was prompted by India’s defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final last month. Had India won the title and Cheteshwar Pujara got the runs that he is known for making, maybe the debut would not have come this early.

Then, the regular opener for India, Shubman Gill, had a chat with coach Rahul Dravid ahead of the Test series against West Indies that he wanted to bat at the No 3 spot, vacated by the exclusion of Pujara.

So, many things have gone into making Yashasvi Jaiswal an international cricket. But as they say, fortune favours the brave. And there have been few braver than Jaiswal.

He dared to dream of playing for India and for that sold street food in Mumbai, and slept in tents in Azad Maidan, sometimes empty stomach, all with one goal in mind — to play for India.

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