'Don't Overhype and Make Them Look Like Heroes': EX-IND Opener After Jaiswal Smashes Double Ton

Yashasvi Jaiswal was in the spotlight after bringing up a valiant double-century on Day 2 of the second Test against England at Visakhapatnam. The 22-year-old was the only batter who stayed in the middle for a long period and went on to score his career-best 209 while the other batters failed to make the best of their starts.

Like Jaiswal, another left-handed opening batter during his time, Gautam Gambhir, however, believes that the youngster should be allowed to play his brand of cricket while others must not overhype his achievements and put him under more pressure.

Speaking with PTI, Gambhir congratulated the batter and said,” I want to congratulate the youngster for his achievement but, more importantly, I want to tell everyone that let the young man play. We have seen in the past that in India we have a habit, especially the media, to overhype their achievements and give them tags and make them look like heroes.”

The former Indian batter and 2-time World Cup winner further explained that as the pressure and expectations build on a player, it stops the players from playing their natural game and thereby not putting in the performances that the fans and media have grown to leave.

“The pressure of expectations gets the better of them and the players are not able to play their natural game. Let him grow and enjoy his cricket.”

Whilst young Jaiswal has been putting in a shift with the bat. Batters like Gill and Iyer have not had the best of times in the middle, failing to put in a decent performance behind them in the ongoing series against England. Gambhir believes that like Jaiswal these players should also be given time to flourish and showcase their quality.

Gambhir concluded by saying,” We should give them time as they are quality players and they have shown it in the past with their performance. That is why they are playing for India.”

India ended Day 2 of the second Test in front as they managed to bowl out the English batting order for just 253 runs. The hosts came out to bat with Jaiswal padding up once again along with the skipper Rohit Sharma with a lead of 143 runs. The opening pair managed to add 28 runs after which stumps were called. However, they will look to increase their lead by a significant amount to ensure that England have no chance of coming back and level the series 1-1.