"Watching him, I am reminded of Viru" - Former India batter lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal's knock in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India batter Hemang Badani has likened Yashasvi Jaiswal's batting to Virender Sehwag's. He noted that both are adept at cutting the ball and play well through the off side.

Jaiswal scored 87 runs off 107 deliveries in India's first innings of the second Test against England. The visitors ended Day 1 (Wednesday, July 2) at 310/5, with Shubman Gill (114* off 216) and Ravindra Jadeja (41* off 67) being the unbeaten batters.

Reviewing the first day's play on Sony Sports, Badani urged Jaiswal not to change his approach, comparing his batting style to Sehwag's.

"I would say he shouldn't change anything. Many people might ask him to take his time. However, watching him, I am reminded of Viru. One is a left-hander and the other is a right-hander, both play the cut shot well, and play well on the off side," he said.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach noted that the cut shot to which Jaiswal got out has also yielded him a lot of runs.

"There is a place for a batter like him or Rishabh Pant in today's cricket. You have other batters who take their time. Sometimes, you might feel that he got out while batting well, but it's his shot. He scored a lot of runs with the same shot. He hit four or five fours with the same shot in this innings," Badani observed.

Badani added that the left-handed opener can look to better his shot selection, but shouldn't alter his temperament.

"So, I won't ask him to change his game. Continue playing carefree. It's okay if you can improve your shot selection slightly, but I won't allow you to change your temperament as a batter. The ball that he got out to was the only ball that kept slightly low, but it's his normal shot," he elaborated.

Yashasvi Jaiswal struck 13 fours during his 87-run knock. He added 80 runs for the second wicket with Karun Nair (31 off 50) and 66 runs for the third wicket with Shubman Gill after KL Rahul (2 off 26) had been dismissed cheaply.

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"They were attempting to tempt him for a long time" - Saba Karim on Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal was caught behind off Ben Stokes' bowling. [P/C: Getty]

In a separate discussion on Sony Sports, former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim attributed Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal to a lack of foot movement while being tempted to play a delivery well outside the off-stump.

"The ball wasn't special. The ball was bowled way outside off-stump. They were attempting to tempt him for a long time. The shot he played, the body and feet didn't go, only the bat went. You won't remain in control if you play this kind of shot," he said.

The former India selector added that Ben Stokes lulls the batters into a false sense of security with his seemingly innocuous deliveries.

"He was a set batter. You have to pay for your mistake. Ben Stokes has the quality to lull the batter into a wrong shot. He makes the batters feel that they can play shots against whichever ball he bowls, and he keeps getting wickets because of that, and that happened with Yashasvi Jaiswal this time," Saba observed.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was Ben Stokes' only victim on Day 1 of the Birmingham Test. The England skipper registered figures of 1/58 in 15 overs, with Chris Woakes (2/59), Brydon Carse (1/49) and Shoaib Bashir (1/65) being the other successful bowlers.