Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill: As a member of the Indian Test squad in 2008, Rahul Dravid saw change for the first time. It began with Sourav Ganguly’s retirement and continued with MS Dhoni replacing Anil Kumble as captain. Then, in 2012, both Dravid and VVS Laxman departed to create room for Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, and a year later, Sachin Tendulkar’s legendary retirement brought an end to an era of dominance for Indian cricket.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill A decade later, as the team’s head coach, Dravid has a front-row seat to another Indian squad’s period of change. He has spent a great deal of time inside the system, particularly the age-group and route programmes.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill
Pujara, who has played 103 Tests and succeeded Dravid as India’s long-term No. 3 for the greater part of the previous decade, is no longer in the team’s plans. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who Rohit Sharma feels might serve Indian cricket for a long time, has been given a shot at the left-hand opening position, while the position has been given to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who thrived as an age-group player under Dravid.
In his first professional tournament last week, Jaiswal scored a mature 171, helping India to a huge victory and kicking off the 2023-25 WTC cycle with a bang. That he batted the manner he did — “willing to play an attacking game when required but also knuckle down and be defensive, work hard for his runs when needed” — did not surprise Dravid in the least.
Dravid added, “It’s a tribute to the domestic system,” as the second Test was about to begin in Port-of-Spain on Thursday. The fact that many young players can contribute immediately speaks much about the culture of the squad. The domestic system deserves much of the credit for generating players of this calibre, particularly in the batting area, and the staff here deserves praise for providing a comfortable space where young players can come and play freely.
“So it’s nice from our perspective as a coach to see young players come in, perform straight away, and do really well, whether it’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill has grown over the last six-eight months or seeing the way Ishan [Kishan] came in and kept in the last game on a difficult wicket, he did a really good job. So many young players have emerged to excel, especially in one-day and Twenty20 competitions. That’s a testament to the hard work of NCA and a lot of other folks here at home.
While praising the youth, Dravid spoke a note of caution, expressing his hope that they would rise to the occasion of overcoming even greater difficulties when they go to the next stage of their development.
Dravid predicted that players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill would encounter more difficult opposition as their careers progressed in the sport. It’s a great opportunity for teams to bond with one other. The West Indies will reply to Jaiswal’s tactics and methods from the last Test by developing new ones for this match. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill
Jaiswal will need to adapt to the techniques and tactics used by the West Indies to win. Today’s young players need to be able to adapt to the increased attention and preparation given to them once they become well-known and begin playing well. So, I’m looking forward to it, but I’m much more eager to see his skill and performance. I was impressed by how well he adapted, not just with his ability to play an offensive style when called for, but also with his willingness to knuckle down and be defensive, and to fight hard for his runs. Nothing makes a coach happier than when their charges succeed.