Former Australia captain lauded young India opener Yashavi Jaiswal for his exploits in the first Test against West Indies and was not surprised to see the left-hander make a strong impression on his debut for the country.
Jaiswal was handed a Test debut for India in their first Test against the West Indies in Dominica. The 21-year-old immediately showed he was up to the task as he became just the 17th Indian player to score a century (171) on their Test debut and led his side to a big win over the hosts.
Before his India debut, Jaiswal also had an impressive Indian Premier League 2023 season as he scored 625 runs for the Rajasthan Royals.
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“I mean (Yashasvi) Jaiswal’s IPL was something special. He almost just flicked a switch and turned into a superstar overnight,” Ponting said in the recent episode of The ICC Review.
“Everyone knew that he was a talented youngster, but what I saw in this year’s IPL, he’s got all sorts of talent,” he added.
Ponting thinks a host of other uncapped youngsters will gain inspiration from Jaiswal and can perform in a similar vein if provided with an opportunity at the Test level.
He nominated Ruturaj Gaikwad — who scored 590 runs during this year’s IPL and is also in India’s touring party currently in the Caribbean — as another player who may shine in the coming years and Sarfaraz Khan and Prithvi Shaw as two other batters that could easily adjust quickly to the rigors of Test cricket.
“There’s a lot of those young Indian guys that I can’t wait to see play Test cricket and yet you look at their domestic records as well and you can’t help but be impressed,” he said.
“I’m on record saying that I think (Ruturaj) Gaikwad’s the same (as Jaiswal). I think he could be a very serious Test match player or all-format player really in the next couple of years,” he added.
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