Indian young opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal lavished praise on newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh. Gambhir was appointed as India's new head coach after Rahul Dravid's tenure ended with T20 World Cup 2024 win. Gambhir joined the Indian squad before Sri Lanka tour where the Men in Blue played three T20Is followed by 3 ODIs.
Jaiswal played 23 T20Is and scored 723 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 164.32 and the young batter has featured in nine Test matches where he scored 1028 runs. Jaiswal who was the part of Suryakumar Yadav-led T20I side revealed how Gambhir's word helped him to gain confidence while facing Sri Lanka. India defeated the hosts Sri Lanka 3-0.
“Yes, I have spoken with him during the Sri Lanka series. He really backed us saying just go out and play freely and enjoy the game and we will be with you. It gives us a lot of confidence and helps us to play fearlessly,” Jaiswal told PTI.
Jaiswal's plan for the Bangladesh Test series
ALSO READ: 'My performance has not matched my expectations so far': Shubman Gill acknowledges Test performance gap ahead of Duleep Trophy 2024
ALSO READ: Duleep Trophy: From Suryakumar Yadav to Ravindra Jadeja, 6 India stars who suffered injury setbacks ahead of tournament opener
Yashasvi Jaiswal said that he wanted to use the Duleep Trophy as a training platform ahead of the upcoming two-match series against Bangladesh.
“I am working hard at nets ahead, first for the Duleep Trophy and then for the Bangladesh series. It’s not about setting personal goals, as you know in cricket you have to be consistent and keep working on your skills.
“Domestic tournaments like Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy are very important games and it gives me a lot of confidence and helps me prepare for those (international) games,” he said.
“I try to remain in my zone and contribute to the team’s winning cause. You get to learn a lot of things in tournaments like Duleep Trophy and it is very good for you to play such intense games ahead of a Test series," he added.
Jaiswal will be the part of India B squad in the Duleep Trophy 2024 who will play their opener clash against Shubman Gill-led India A on September 5.
India B Squad
Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (WK).
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
