Making of Yashasvi Jaiswal: Playing Single Shot 300 Times A Day, 100m Power-hitting And More

Playing a single shot 300 times a day in an isolated facility in Talegaon, working with a baseball coach to perfect the power game and painful blisters on his palms after continuous hours of range-hitting: all this and more went into the making of Yashasvi Jaiswal as the next big thing in Indian cricket. It was Rajasthan Royals' High Performance Director and former Mumbai batter Zubin Bharucha, who played a significant role in his rise after he spotted him the during the IPL trials.

It did not take Bharucha long to realise that he had special talent before him. Just one shot played by Jaiswal was enough to catch Bharucha's attention.

"He had come from U-19 India but IPL is a very different level. He came for the trial and I don't remember who the bowler was but he walked across stumps and played a flick behind the square, first ball," Bharucha told PTI during an interaction.

"I am a great believer in first instincts. I didn't want to see more of him because I had seen that arrogance and unimaginable confidence level you want to see in a batter." Bharucha then went on to play a significant role in Jaiswal's transition from a precocious 18-year-old talent to a player of international class as he became the 17th Indian batter to hit a hundred on Test debut on Thursday in West Indies.

"There is a saying that it takes a village to make a champion. There are many people who have contributed in Yashasvi's journey so far and I just happen to be one of them. He came from a place where he had very little.

"He certainly knows where he comes from. He's very clear that he has risen from nothing and he is conscious of what he is doing now and where he feels he is going," said Bharucha, who played 17 first-class games for a very strong