'Domestic Cricket is Really Important': Yashasvi Jaiswal Responds to Queries From Fans in Zimbabwe After Winning Player-of-the-match Award

Yashasvi Jaiswal was part of India’s T20 World Cup winning squad but he didn’t get to play a single match.

Not playing a single game for over a month didn’t impact his form though as he started peeling off boundaries with ease after landing in Zimbabwe midway through India’s five-match T20I series currently underway in Harare.

Also Read: Ganguly’s Reminder on Rohit Replacing Kohli as India Captain

In his first match, India’s third of the tour, Jaiswal got the start before being dismissed for 36 off 27, an innings comprising four fours and two sixes.

Leaving behind the frustration of not converting a promising start, Jaiswal went on to hammer an unbeaten 93 off 53 in the 4th T20I to play a starring role in India’s brutal thrashing of Zimbabwe. The young opener belted 13 fours and clubbed two sixes as the tourists won by 10 wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

After the match, Jaiswal took some questions from Indian fans who were present at the Harare Sports Club for the match.

When asked how he managed to maintain his form despite not playing any competitive cricket since IPL 2024, Jaiswal responded,  “I enjoyed my process and being a part of the World Cup champion team and I learnt a lot. I was really excited. Whenever I get a chance I try my best and make sure that I am contributing for the team and winning the games for my team.”

Jaiswal said playing domestic cricket remains important for every player as it prepares them to deliver at international level.

“Of course, domestic cricket helps a lot. It prepares you for matches, they are really important for us. We enjoy playing domestic cricket,” Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal stitched an unbroken partnership of 165 with Shubman Gill (58*) for the first wicket.

“We were only thinking about finishing the game and make sure that the team wins and we finish without any loss (of a wicket). The only thing in the mind was to finish the game without any loss,” Jaiswal said.

“I really enjoyed playing today, it was an amazing experience with Shubman bhai and I really enjoyed scoring the runs. Whenever I play for India I really enjoy and feel proud,” he added.