Jayant Yadav who made his debut in the 2nd Test between India and England at Vishakhapatnam has already made a mark on the big stage with some spectacular performances on the field. He surprised everyone with an exceptional performance with the bat in the 4th Test when he created history by becoming the first Indian no. 9 batsman to score a Test hundred. He was also involved in a historic 241 run partnership along with captain Virat Kohli for the 10th wicket.
As praises from all over the country began to pour in for the 26-year-old, tragedy struck his family as his father Jai Singh Yadav received the news of his mother in law (Jayant’s grandmother) passing away. While watching the match in New Delhi, Jayant’s father received the fateful news and left during his son’s innings to travel to Jalandhar, Punjab.
“I had a feeling that my son would score big today, but then I received the fateful news so I had to leave Delhi immediately. While I was travelling, I received a phone call saying that Jayant had scored a century, but I was not sure whether I should feel happy or sad,” Jai Singh Yadav told Dainik Jagran.
Jayant had no idea regarding the demise of his grandmother while he was batting. Apparently, he was unaware of the fact even when he attended the end of the day press conference as he did not make a mention of it while speaking to the press.
This is not the first time Jayant has had to deal with a close loss in his family. 17 years ago, his mother Lakshmi passed away in a plane crash. Jyoti Yadav, who became his adopted mother thereafter nurtured and brought Jayant up as her own son, helping him in every which way possible as he pursued his aspirations of being a top-flight cricketer.
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Jayant made his first-class debut back in 2011 for Haryana and has played an integral role as an all-rounder in his state’s success over the years. In 45 first-class matches, he scored1769 runs at an average of 30.50 with 3 centuries and 6 half-centuries to his name. During this time, he took 126 wickets at a bowling average of 29.69.
Consistent first-class performances led to an Indian call-up for Jayant and he will be looking to cement his place in the team as India get ready to take on England in the 5th and final Test in Chennai which is set to begin on December 16th.
