When dreams have no boundaries

Panipuri seller to India Under19 team, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s hard work paid off. recaps the journey ahead of his Colombo debut

The young flag-bearers of Indian cricket are doing wonders on their tour to Sri Lanka, having won both the four-day Test matches.

The India Under-19 team, which has Sachin Tendulkar’s son, Arjun, will now look forward to the One Day Internationals (ODIS) from July 30.

Although the limelight has so far been on Arjun, considering he has large shoes to fill, another youngster from Mumbai is eyeing to score big on the tour.

Seventeen-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal’s story is not the run-of-the-mill saga of a regular cricketer from Mumbai. He has gone from selling pani-puri to wearing the India colours in the Under-19 team.

Jaiswal, son of a small-time shop owner in Uttar Pradesh, moved to Mumbai in 2012, only to play cricket. With the help of his uncle, Santosh, a manager at Muslim United Club, Jaiswal got a place to sleep in tents at Azad Maidan. He sold pani-puri to have two square meals. There were nights when he went to bed on an empty stomach.

Jaiswal’s talent was channelised when coach Jwala Singh began training him. Singh not only worked on Jaiswal’s cricketing skills, but also gave enough focus on his physical development.

Jaiswal’s success emerges from dogged persistence and the courage to play cricket, despite all the hardships he faced.

Now, over to Colombo, where he will make his debut.

Yashasvi means successful, and that’s what the 19yearold wants to be after his practice sessions (left) at Mumbai Cricket Club. The road to the club, though, wasn’t free of bumps. The teen also had to sleep in a tent at the Muslim United Club...