“He was telling me, ‘you have to do it’”

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit his first Test hundred, opened up about how captain Rohit Sharma encouraged him before and during Dominica Exam. He acknowledged the role of seniors like Rohit and Virat Kohli in his development as a batter and assured that he would look forward to continuing to learn from them.

On Thursday, Jaiswal became the 17th Indian batsman to score a century on Test debut when he hit three figures for Dominica against the West Indies. Southpaw today finished with 143* off 350 balls, putting India in a leading position in the Test match.

Jaiswal and skipper Rohit added 229 for the first wicket as the visitors went to the stumps at 312/2, replying to West Indies’ first innings total of 150. In a press conference after the second day, the former revealed how Rohit had guided him.

“I talked a lot to Rohit while batting. He kept explaining to me how to bat for these wickets and where the strikes would come from. We had a very good connection between us. Also before the match, he was talking to me, telling me ‘you have to do it.’ So I kept thinking about that and how I have to prepare mentally and get points. So I think I’ve learned a lot from this game and I’ll try to keep doing that moving forward as well,” said the debutant.

The 21-year-old admitted that getting feedback from senior players makes all the difference.

“It makes a huge difference when experienced players and legends in our team (like Rohit, Virat and Rahan) sit with you and talk to you… It makes a huge difference because I’m constantly learning from them,” Jaiswal added.

Jaiswal hit 14 fours so far while staying in the middle and added an unbroken 72 for the third wicket with Kohli (36* from 96).

“It was an emotional moment” – Jaiswal reached triple figures on its demo debut

Jaiswal shared his thoughts on reaching three figures on his Test debut, and admitted that it was an emotional moment for him. He also stressed that he will look to remain focused and disciplined.

The talented hitter commented:

“It feels really good. It was an emotional moment (getting 100). My hitting is still going, so the effort is going to be to play as long as possible for the team. This is the start of my career, so I’m going to strive to take that as long as possible as well and see how focused I can be.” And the discipline with which I can go forward.”

Jaiswal dedicated his 100 test debuts to his parents, saying they had a huge impact on his life.