Dravid and Sachin’s advice guided me in final, reveals Yashasvi Jaiswal

02/18/2020

Yashasvi Jaiswal has revealed that tips from legends Tendulkar and Dravid helped build his innings in the final despite all the verbal volleys from the Bangladesh players. Jaiswal shared that the tournament was a memorable one but added that victory in the final would have made it unforgettable.

After a dominant run throughout the recently concluded U19 World Cup, India faltered at the pinnacle as they lost the final after a below par performance with the bat. While the pressure of the big game took its toll on the boys in blue, the extra aggressive attitude of the Bangladeshi players, which included abusive verbal volleys, made the 22 yards in the middle a bed of fire for the Indians.

But against all odds, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, player of the tournament, stood his ground and played a courageous knock of 88 to help his side post 177, which was later chased down with ease by Bangladesh. Jaiswal hailed the advice of batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid which helped him cool his mind in the middle of all the adversities.

“That was because of Dravid (Rahul Dravid) sir and Sachin sir (Sachin Tendulkar). They always told me one thing - ‘talk with your bat not with your mouth’. So, I always keep that advice on top of my list. And that’s why I stayed calm and didn’t respond to any of the sledge (in the final against Bangladesh). That's I was smiling. I wanted to bat for long and put as many runs on the board. This was the only thing going in my mind at that point of time,” Yashasvi told TOI.

While Jaiswal was content with his performance at the gala event, the regret of not being able to lift the nation’s fifth youth World Cup, he revealed, still lingered in his mind.

“I am really happy with my performance, but I would have been much happier if had I won the World Cup for my country. It was an amazing experience altogether. I got to play on different pitches, in different environments and conditions. The top-most thing I learnt is how to handle pressure. I enjoyed batting in New Zealand,” the youngster said.

The youngster's next assignment will be the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for a sum of ₹2.4 crore.