IPL 2020: Lived In Tent, Sold Pani Puri, Yashasvi Jaiswal Gets 2.4 Crore Deal From Rajasthan Royals

Highly-rated Mumbai batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal has been roped in by Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming season of IPL. The left-handed batsman, whose base price was INR 20 lakh, was bought by the Royals for INR 2.4 Crore. Mumbai Indians started the bidding for the youngster before Kolkata Knight Riders joined them. And when Mumbai Indians pulled out, Rajasthan Royals locked horns with the Knight Riders before securing the player’s services.

Yashasvi Jaiswal became a household name in this cricket-obsessed nation due to his heroics in the last Vijay Hazare Trophy. In October, the Mumbai starlet slammed a double century against Jharkhand to enter the record books. The left-handed batsman became the youngest player to score a List A double century.

The 17-year old hit 203 off 154 balls with 12 sixes and 17 boundaries during his monumental knock as he gave the world a glimpse of what to expect from him in the coming days. Overall, he hit 25 sixes during his maiden List A tournament. In 13 List-A matches so far, he’s scored 779 runs at an average of 70.81 at a strike rate of 91.

Yashasvi Jaiswal came into the limelight earlier this year when he scored four half-centuries to star in India’s U-19 tri-series in England. He then scored 224 runs and took 8 wickets in the Vizzy One-Day Trophy to be adjudged player of the tournament.

What has made him even more popular is his struggle. The highly-rated batsman hails from Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh. When he came to Mumbai in 2012,  he was just 11 years old and had nowhere to live in the city. With cricket taking up most of his time, he was thrown out of a dairy shop where he used to sleep and was given refuge by the grounds-men at the Muslim United Club’s tent at the Azad Maidan ground. He had to sell pani-puri to make ends meet. Things only changed when he was spotted by his coach Jwala Singh.