Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal applauded India’s opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal and debutant Sarfaraz Khan for their splendid performances in the 3rd Test at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah stadium. Their knocks coupled with Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja’s centuries in the 1st innings helped the Indians claim their biggest ever Test win by 434 runs.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal scored an outstanding double century, his second in this series and career, Sarfaraz Khan too had a dreamy start to his Test career after receiving his maiden Test cap from the hands of the legend himself Anil Kumble on the first morning. The duo even batted together in 3rd innings, ensuring England got a target of over 500.
Before becoming teammates on the national side, both Sarfaraz and Jaiswal were teammates for Mumbai in the domestic circuit. They have played together on various occasions in Ranji Trophy and their chemistry in the middle was on display yesterday as both were complimenting each other.
In fact, they even got into a little argument after Yashasvi Jaiswal refused to take a double that could have taken Sarfaraz Khan to 49 but thankfully it was just a heated-up moment only in the game which didn’t really have any effect on their games.
After Sarfaraz completed his half-century, Jaiswal followed up with a double century with the former celebrating pre-maturely and raising his bat in the air even before Jaiswal completed the single for his 200. They stitched together a partnership of 72 runs for the 6th wicket and it intrigued former Indian cricketer Madan Lal to say that the next generation is ready.
“This young generation is quite good, they have a lot of experience playing first class cricket, IPL cricket, they are not scared of hitting the ball. If you look at their batting style, they are much more positive. The way they play the shots, shows that they have a lot of confidence and that can only come when you play a lot of cricket. That’s the reason they are champions. The next generation is getting ready for India,” Madan Lal said via IANS.
He also stated that if Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan are to continue doing this, they will have to ensure they remain consistent throughout to experience a long career. “Yashasvi has the class following his consistent performance and Sarfaraz needs to keep performing in the same manner as his journey has just begun.”
“These new kids have just started”, Madan Lal opines on Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan’s omission over Kohli and Rahul
Madan Lal was then asked how will the Indian team management go about in terms of managing the squad by having the likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer. To that, he responded that established players will always get the preference but highlighted that Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan’s presence for the team is good.
“I think, it’s a good sign, like you talk about KL, Virat and Shreyas, they have done a lot better. And these new kids have just started. So, preference will be given to the established players. They have won a lot of games for the country, inside or outside. It’s a good thing we have a good pool of talent, and those who are on the border line, will have to fight for their place” Madan Lal concluded.