Yashasvi Jaiswal is the talk of the town after smashing his maiden IPL century in the 1000th game of the league’s history between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. The RR batter became the league’s fourth youngest player to reach the three-figure mark. However, behind all of the accolades he is currently receiving are years of hardship and poverty.
Yashasvi Jaiswal moved to Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh when he was 10 years old, with the goal of playing cricket at the highest level in mind. His parents were not financially secure, so he came to stay with his uncle in the City of Dreams. He used to work at a dairy when he was 11 because his parents couldn’t afford to support his cricketing career. To make ends meet, he sold paani puri and fruits near Azaad Maidan in Mumbai. Every day after work, he came here to watch cricketers play.
He also used to sleep in tents on the side of the road and eat with the groundsmen who lived there. His career took off when he met his coach, Jwala Singh. Jaiswal told The Times of India that his coach even supported him and offered him a place to stay.
Yashasvi Jaiswal rose to prominence after scoring 319* and taking 13 wickets in a Harris Shield school-level tournament, the same tournament that produced the great Sachin Tendulkar. Since then, he has risen through the ranks and was finally given the opportunity to play for India in the U-19 Cricket World Cup, where he excelled. At the age of 17, he became the youngest batter in List A cricket history to score a double century.
He was signed for Rs 2.4 crore by the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2019 auction, and after a few seasons of struggle, he has come into his own in IPL 2023. In this edition, he has 428 runs and is the proud owner of the Orange Cap.
Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed the Mumbai Indians bowlers from the start, slamming boundaries and sixes all over the field. He got to 100 in only 53 deliveries. He was eventually out after scoring 124 off 62 balls in an innings that included 16 fours and 8 sixes.
