Former Australia batting star Matthew Hayden predicts good times for young India opener Down Under; interested to see how he copes with bouncy tracks
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal during Day One of the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala earlier this year. Pic/AFP
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden (right) has called young India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal a “phenomenal” talent to watch during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “Young Jaiswal, well, it’s an exciting prospect to see how he’ll play [in Australia]. He’s a package. His strokeplay is good. His ability in particular to hit on the up through the covers is phenomenal. That’ll also have its vulnerabilities. I’m looking forward to seeing how he adjusts on bouncy tracks [in Australia],” Hayden said on the sidelines of the Ceat Cricket Rating Awards at a city hotel on Wednesday.
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Jaiswal was picked as the Test batter of the year while Ravichandran Ashwin got the bowling honour. The Ceat international men’s cricketer of the year award went to India skipper Rohit Sharma while the ODI batter of the year award was claimed by Virat Kohli. Mohd Shami got the ODI bowling honours. The domestic cricketer of the year award was presented to Sai Kishore of Tamil Nadu. India’s T20 World Cup winning coach Rahul Dravid received the lifetime achievement award.
Deepti Sharma was presented the Indian bowler of the year award. Pic/Shadab Khan
Jaiswal, 22, has played nine Tests and scored 1,028 runs with three centuries. However, Hayden, who made 8,625 runs in 103 Tests, felt it would be a challenge for Jaiswal to counter the Australian pacers. “We did notice a few times in the IPL—he’s [Jaiswal] a very hard hitter… pull shots in particular. But, that’ll be challenged by three world-class speedsters [Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins], assuming they’re all fit,” Hayden remarked.
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When mid-day asked if the absence of former opener David Warner would be a concern for Australia, he said: “Yes, it is. For the first time, it doesn’t feel as secure. David gave great service to Australian cricket. He was extremely competitive, wonderfully dynamic. His strike rates in excess of 80 gave great momentum to the top-order which, otherwise, is quite conservative. So, he’s an enormous loss in terms of how do you replace him.”
After 2014-15, Australia have failed to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. But, Hayden predicts a tough battle in the upcoming 2024-25 five-Test series which will begin at Perth on November 22. “Two Test matches is just a horrible series. Three Tests make you feel half-pregnant. Four Tests, you ultimately have a bit of cricket, but there’s always that swinging boat, whereas five Tests, you’ve got a chance to win. You also get a chance to lose and then you get a chance to come back and win. So, it gives the whole concept of a drawn Test match series. Not so much of a chance to breathe. It’s going to be a great series,” Hayden explained.
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