Brian Lara backs Jaiswal to excel in Australia ahead of his first trip to the country in next month’s 5-test series.
Brian Lara believes that India star Yashasvi Jaiswal will have a series befitting his meteoric rise in Test Cricket.
Lara, the former captain of the West Indies, has given the 22-year-old a glowing recommendation. Although his budding Test career hadn’t already hinted as much.
Jaiswal, according to Lara, can “play in any conditions”. Lara belives he will do well in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year with little psychological tweaks.
“Obviously, the pitches in Australia are slightly different. But if you take your mentality, and if you take that sort of strength that you have, you’re going to play good cricket in any conditions,” Lara said on the sidelines of the launch of the International Masters League in Mumbai on Tuesday. “I expect to see him do well.”
Since making his debut in the West Indies in July 2023, Jaiswal has scored 1217 runs from 11 Tests at an average of 64.05. This makes him India’s opening batsman in the longest format. Many have found the task of their first journey to Australia to be too great in the past. Lara, however, thinks Jaiswal can overcome it if he maintains a positive outlook.
“I think the adjustment is upstairs,” Lara said, pointing to the head. He himself famously smashed 277 in Sydney on his maiden trip to Australia, back in 1992-93. “The adjustment is the ability to back your talent in whatever conditions. I say this with a pinch of salt, because conditions in India have changed.
“With the IPL, you’ve got international players coming. And you’re feeding your players a different level of competition, which is great. So I don’t think there’s much that he (Jaiswal) has to do technically. I just think mentally [he has to adjust]. Travelling away from home, [and] playing against Australia. Australia, on their shores, are a different beast.”