"I didn't want to but it was too much...": Yashasvi Jaiswal on retiring hurt on Day 3 of England Test
Feb 19, 2024
New Delhi [India], February 19 : India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal stated that he didn't want to retire hurt on Day 3 of the third Test against England in Rajkot.
Jaiswal went on to score an unbeaten 214 after retiring hurt on the third day of Rajkot Test as he experienced lower back pain. He was playing on 105 when he went to the pavilion and resumed the knock the next day. His double ton included three consecutive sixes in England's veteran pacer James Anderson's over.
"It's kind of hard, Test cricket, I guess. So, I just make sure that if I'm there, I need to make sure in my mind that I will give my 100 per cent. I didn't want to [retire] out but it was too much. The next day I didn't know how it was going to start, lots of thoughts in my mind. But again when I came, I tried to give myself time and after that, I felt really, really good," Jasiwal said as quoted from ICC.
"Suddenly I got set and I felt that I could score runs. I have my plans where I could play all my shots and I tried...and get those runs. After some time, my back was not really good," Jaiswal added.
Jaiswal currently leads the run-scorer charts in the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). He has 861 runs to his name.
He appreciated the role of India head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathour in mentoring him during his early cricketing phase.
"The things that they have told me, how I can think about the game, how I can read the wicket, how I can take my game as deep as I can and with that also they give me all the freedom. 'If you think that you can play that shot well, make sure you are committing to it and you're playing it'. They know that I play the sweep and the reverse sweep and they say you play, but make sure the ball is there to play," Jaiswal said.
"I always keep thinking and talking to my seniors like Rohit bhai and Rahul bhai as well about how I can prepare for the game and how I can switch my mind. I think it is really important to work on my mind and I really try to work on my mind and then I try to express myself," Jaiswal added.
Jaiswal's heroic knock combined with efforts from Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan helped India clinch a historic 434-run victory.
