Every time Yashasvi Jaiswal would do well – either in the Indian Premier League or for India – a very old interview, with reel-worthy music in the backdrop, would dominate social media. The young boy would recall his early days in the Mumbai maidans, the struggle to meet the basic needs and his narration, a very emotional one, leaves a lump in his throat.
“Mai itne problem mai tha ki karte karte thak chukka tha. Mai kar nahi paa raha tha, bahut akela pad raha tha (I was in so many problems that I got tried trying. I wasn’t able to do it and felt very lonely).”
It is a video of a young boy with big dreams. Talking about his struggles to put food on the plate, a roof over his head and helplessness of not getting anywhere. There were days when desperation would creep in but even in the darkest of days, he focussed on the light at the end of the tunnel by staying in the present.
One match at a time, the scattered pieces of life’s puzzle started falling into place and in lightning-quick time, the 22-year-old changed the narrative. The paani-puri stories were left in the rear-view mirror as Jaiswal cruised on the road to stardom, one knock at a time.
Cut to 2024: A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annual retainer, an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract worth crores, social media following in millions and it’s safe to say that Yashasvi Jaiswal is the next superstar in the making.
The boy from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh, who dared to dream and fight a lone battle in the competitive Mumbai circuit, no longer needs to worry about the roof over his head as he is a proud owner of two properties in Thane and Bandra Kurla Complex, drives two cars and is now a fluent self-taught English speaker.
Taking nothing away from his cricketing exploits, it’s Jaiswal’s overall personality development and off-field choices which have been remarkable. From not finding sense in investing in an expensive car to opting for minimalistic interiors for his new home to the choice of clothing, Jaiswal is taking the right steps to superstardom, one classy move at a time.
At Rajasthan Royals, the franchise which bought him in the 2020 auction and later retained him, Jaiswal found the right culture to grow both as a cricketer and an individual. The franchise identified the potential and had a plan in place for his overall growth and development. Rajasthan Royals CEO Jake Lush McCrum still remembers the first time he met Jaiswal and how the first meeting left a lasting impression.
“Yash (Yashasvi Jaiswal) was actually one of the first players I met when I came to India close to seven years ago, and I recall that he couldn’t speak a word of English at the time. What stood out, however, for everyone at the Royals, was the hunger and determination to learn that he carried – both on and off the field,” says Jake.
It was more than the initial spark which caught the RR management’s attention. They saw “tremendous potential” and were ready to go the extra mile to ensure Jaiswal’s overall development.
“Over the past five years, we’ve seen a transformation that we are all really proud of, and to have witnessed it from close quarters has been incredibly satisfying. When you have an athlete who has tremendous potential, it is our responsibility to ensure we support their overall development and not just on-the-field aspects. With Yash (Yashasvi), the best part was that he had this same desire, and we’ve sat together countless times over the years to discuss areas of his development that we can support,” adds Jake.
Communication was identified as the first area of development and a lot of focus was paid on developing that trait. While Jaiswal himself worked very hard on learning English through self-help, RR helped him level up by making him participate in panel discussions and understand the importance of body language.
“It started with communication development, from learning English through self-help to presenting his thoughts in front of business leaders from around the world, to participating in panel discussions in the presence of our investors, to also working with our communications team to understand the importance of body language, delivery of messaging, while retaining the core personality that we all know and love.
“During this time, he’s also interacted and been exposed to so many individuals around the world through visits to our global RR Academies, meeting senior business people from other fields and spending time experiencing different cultures. We have also supported him with a panel of trusted financial experts to work with, ensuring he can focus on his cricket,” says Jake.
The off-field development continued, runs continued to flow off his blade and there was a steady flow of money into his bank account. There have been countless instances of youngsters losing their way after exposure to enormous amounts of money early in their career and RR weren’t willing to take that chance with Jaiswal. The left-hander was put in touch with “trusted financial advisors” for support, if any, and also underwent wealth management sessions.
“As I mentioned, we have a selection of trusted financial advisors with whom we connect our players to in case they require any support. We’ve also provided informal wealth management sessions to all players since the IPL 2021 season which was conducted in a bio-bubble. We received positive feedback from the players and hence have continued conducting such sessions,” says Jake.
RR’s CEO feels it was the “inquisitive personality” which helped accelerate Jaiswal’s development.
“Yash is a great example of how having an inquisitive personality can help accelerate one’s development, and we have also been focused on giving him exposure to as many cultures as possible to aid in his progression,” says Jake.
Jaiswal has been on song with the bat in the ongoing Test series vs England, could well shatter the world record for most runs in a single Test series but Jake feels it’s “just the start for him and his career”.
“His transformation is a case study in itself. He has gone through major struggles, but he has never shied away from any situation. We are incredibly proud of what he has been able to achieve so far in his young career, but we also know that this is just the start for him and his career. Each innings that he plays, it is incredible to see how passionately every individual connected to the Royals is cheering for him. We are looking forward to what’s in store for him, and will be continuing to support him throughout his life, to not only be the best cricketer he can be but also the best individual,” says Jake.
That old Jaiswal interview is still going to dominate social media trends but it’s only a matter of time before it is replaced by the version of a polished English-speaking youngster, sporting a high-fade haircut, and carefully expressing his thoughts. One self-taught word at a time.
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