Test Match Special - IPL Pod Ep 6: Heated Kohli, Lethal Livingstone and young superstar Yashasvi

Episode Date: May 5, 2023

Simon Mann is joined by IPL commentator Nikesh Rughani, former IPL player Ravi Bopara and special guest Rajasthan Royals exciting youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal.They discuss the Virat Kohli/Gautam Gambhir altercation, fast bowlers like Jofra Archer and Anrich Nortje being hit for three successive sixes and Jaiswal reveals how he’s inspired by Celine Dion!

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BBC Sounds music radio podcasts Hello I'm Simon Mann and welcome to the latest episode of our IPL podcast This week we'll be joined by one of the stars of this year's tournament The Rajasthan Royals opener yeshavsi Jaiswal who has an amazing story to tell And we'll be rounding up all the action from the Indian Premier League IPL cricket on five sports extra He smashed the ball right down Moinesli's throw. He's taking a stunning catch.

My goodness. Gurran absolutely nailed that ball. It was going at 100 miles an hour back towards Moines Ali who casually puts his hands up and takes one of the most stunning catches you will ever see. That was incredible. Swede for six from Gaiaswell. The contact on that shot, unbelievable.

It's one of the best shots you'll see. He's into Raki Khan. It's a full toss. It's swung high in the air. It's going to drop over. The man at backward point. They run a single. And from nowhere, from 23 for 5,

Delhi Capitals, the IPL's bottom team of the league leader's defending champions, Gujarat Titans, by the league leaders. by five runs. It's another six. This is three in a row. Liam Livingston. Carnage in Mojali.

Joffre Archer is being taken to the cleaners. Well, you can hear IPL coverage on five Sports Exeter and BBC Sounds. And I'm joined now by a couple of members of our commentary team, Nick Esh Raghani and former IPL player Rabi Bopara to discuss the latest talking points from the top. tournament. Where should we start? Shall we start with Virat Koli against Gautum Gambi? All kicked off, didn't at the end of that game? You think of T20 franchise league. The players seem to know each other very well. Everyone seems to get on. You don't see many of those sorts of incidents, Nikesh. It doesn't

seem to me you don't anyway. No, you certainly don't. And both of them obviously find quite heavily by the IPL following that incident. I mean, it wasn't even, look, it was Virac Koli being his aggressive self of old, you might say. He's obviously been leading the RCB in the absence of Faftiplice in the field because of that rib injury. So it seems to have brought out the fire once again, but it was actually Virac Koli and Naveen Ul Huck of LSG who were having the initial words. That was the start of it. Naveen appears to have said something to Koli. Gambir's coming to protect his bowler and the two of them have just kicked off and had to be pulled apart at the end

you really don't see that kind of thing I'm not sure if it would have got physical or not you know a lot of people making jokes about who would win in a WDWE style brawl but in all seriousness look we don't like to see that kind of thing well I think Gambier would

fight dirty but Coley's got the physique and the strength I think and a little bit in height as well they're not tall fellas both of them but yeah I don't think it'd be particularly sort of pay-per-view worthy kind of fight in any case, but regardless of that, look, yeah, usually we do see that Pally Pally thing, don't we? All around the world, people seem to know each other, having played

with each other, against each other, having come across coaching staffs all around the world who do this franchise circuit. So it's very unusual. They are both from Delhi, so they were, you know, teammates in the Ranji Trophy and for India as well, for many a year, that famous partnership that they had in the 2011 World Cup final, which kind of dug India out of that initial hole of losing those two wickets, so great memories of playing together. They had a hug and an embrace when the teams played each other in the first match. But I think the first match, following what happened after that, Gertem Gambir, sort of putting his fingers to his lips and saying shush to the Bangalore crowd didn't go down well

with Virac Koli and he seemed extra fired up. And that's the reason this kind of got taken to another level. But more handbags at 10 paces than anything else, I think. Ravi, you playing lots of these leagues. is it pretty friendly generally for that reason that everybody knows each other and you know you can be against someone one week and playing with them in the in the team you know two months later yes normally is quite friendly uh around the world like you just said everybody sort of knows each other they've either played with each other at some point um i think pretty much

all of those franchise players have played with each other at some point so they know you know when you play with somebody you get to know them on a more personal level and you become friends. So it is very much a friendly vibe in franchise cricket, although all three of them have got history, all three of them. Nevin O'Hulk as well, he's known to start fights. Gorthand Gamba also has got history. When you say fights, you mean verbal spats. Yeah, verbal spats, like out of nowhere sort of thing. So, you know, it has happened before with him. It has happened before with Gambba. Gambi's very fiery. I've played with him at Essex, and I know him quite well through the RPL and all that sort of stuff. He's got that fiery nature. He won't back down.

He likes, I think he quite enjoys having a verbal ruck with somebody. Coley, we know, has got history as well. So, I mean, all three of them, it doesn't surprise me. If there was, if you looked at all the players on the pitch that day and all the players on the bench, including the coaching staff, If you said three players are going to have a fight today, who are they going to be? I would have picked them three. Right, 100%. And the IPL has a fair play award. It's a fair play table.

And I, in all the years, I've been following the IPL. I've never worked out how you become first or second or whatever, how the table works itself out. But presumably, they get penalised for that sort of thing. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm not sure what happens at the end of the IPL. Do they get a trophy for being the fairest team and playing the game in the first? spirit and all that kind of stuff. I don't know. I don't know how the points are worked out. Obviously, you know, following each match, there's probably a panel of people who work for

the BCCI who decide these things. But, you know, sometimes we used to think it was 10 points is the maximum you can get. And then you see a team has played seven matches and they've got 70.8 points. Where did the point eight come from? You know, it's just random. And to be honest, nobody really cares about that. It's another thing for a sponsor to put their name towards. Exactly. It's got a name, isn't it? It's got a sponsor's name attached to it. Okay, let's move on. Now, Manoge Badali's comments, which you can pick up on the no balls podcast, you've probably come across them by now, saying that he envisages eventually, as I understand it, test cricket being in a very small window, almost like Wimbledon, which is two weeks every year. Test cricket in two weeks every year? How would that work? I'm the only thing I can think is you might have, like a one-off semi-final and then a final with four teams involved because that's how it will be in the future you might only have four teams playing test cricket as seriously because t20 is taken over what did you make of those comments rabbi when you heard them well it would have been ideal if you was able to get more sort of detail out of what he meant by that because if you look at if you went down the road of maybe four teams playing test cricket and the rest are not playing anymore and you wanted to do a windward and it's just still

going to need about a month, month and a half for those four teams because you're going to, you know, it's a five-day match and then you've got to have the rest period. Are they both, are they all going to play each other before they go into a sort of final or anything like that? So you're still going to need quite a bit of time. It's, you know, you play a test, you have a week off. You play a test, you have a week off. So there's a lot of time involved. So it does take up a lot of the calendar, in fact, to do that. So the only way I can see that ever happening is one-off test like, like you just mentioned. It has to be.

Otherwise, it takes too much time out the calendar. We should have it at the same time every year played between a small set of nations that can actually afford it and Lord becomes like a Wimbledon, an event that is in the diary. We're going to have to think creatively about Test cricket

if we want it to work, Nikesh. I think Lords being a Wimbledon, I think what he's trying to say there is maybe that's where the final should be every time of whatever the World Test Championship looks like then. And interesting about countries that can afford it.

Yeah, a lot of countries, most countries make losses when they're hosting test matches. The crowds aren't there. The TV rights don't often sell for a great deal either. He's probably looking 20 years down the line, you feel. And maybe in a world where it's India, Australia, England, and maybe New Zealand and Pakistan, the only other two sides, you'd probably say, would be in the mix. But even then, that's not a guarantee. I mean, it could just be those three, the three richest boards at the moment as it stands in world cricket.

So look, it wouldn't be great, I don't think, just not to see all these other nations with great histories involved in the test game anymore. But there may come a point where they just aren't interested. The players growing up are not interested in playing red ball cricket. And as a result, they're not producing quality cricketers. What's the point in fielding aside that's just going to get thumped all the time? and there's no appetite from that young generation to want to play red ball cricket. Yeah, you say 20 years.

I think more can happen in those 20 years. I mean, 20 years is a long time in cricket. If you think about it, IPL started in, was it, 2009, 2008? Look where cricket's gone since the IPL and it's only been sort of 14, 15 years. This could happen soon. This could happen in 10 years, half the time. There's so much happens in that time.

Every year there's something new happening. Every year there'll be, you know, some sort of retired players' tournaments. Then there will be two more T-10s added to the calendar. Then there will be another T-20. Then the 100 popped up and now Saudi Arabia knocking on the door. So much happens in such a short space of time that this could be a lot quicker than we could ever imagine. It can just happen so quickly. In 20 years time, God, knows what it's going to look like.

The game is changing very quickly. Manojad Ali, who's involved with the Rajasthan Royals, suggesting a small window for test cricket because there's T20 cricket being played the rest of the year. We'll see how that develops. You can go to the No Balls podcast to listen to the full interview with Manoj Badali. What about the IPL this week?

There's been some tremendous games this week. Amazing turnaround, that Delhi game against Gujarat. Delhi 23 for 5, one of the weakest teams so far against Gujarat who carried all before them this year and last year. They're still pretty well placed to qualify for the semi-finals. And we talked about big changearounds in games last week. But what we have had this week is the middling to lower sides beating the top teams so that at this stage, after match 48, every team, all 12 teams,

can actually mathematically still qualify. Now, you look at something like the Premier League and you have sort of elite teams, don't you? You have Manchester City at the top and an Arsenal trying to sort of hold on to them. So is it good that you have this sort of even standing where everyone can beat everyone? Is that good for the competition?

Or is it sometimes you see a game like that where 23 for 5 and Delhi are able to win against Gujarat? Do you think that's, is that good for the game? Sometimes, Simon, you also get elite sides like Leicester City. in the English Premier League as well. Don't forget that. But yeah, you're right. Look, this is great.

I mean, they almost go through cycles as well. Some of these teams. So, look, Delhi have been really strong for three or four seasons consistently, getting into the playoffs and into the final and things like that. Chennai and Mumbai had a couple of barren years. And then Chennai came back and won in 2021. And, you know, Mumbai have had a couple of barren years recently. And they're just starting to get a little bit of form back as well.

So it kind of goes in cycles. you do have teams like Punjab who have never really kind of threatened to win the competition but there's only the odd side every other side has either sort of been consistently in the playoffs for a period of time

RCB being one of them who've never won the IPL but they've been to finals they've been in the playoffs they have performed at that level consistently I think it's great and obviously with mega auctions and things like that

and so many changes among teams every few years it does give a chance to level the playing field whereas in the Premier League you just don't get that the richest teams are all the ones who can afford the best players in the world Manchester City buying Erling Harland for example you know Nottingham Forest

wouldn't be able to do that having been just promoted to the Premier League for example so the fact they've all got the same budget for players I think helps in that regard and that's what it's designed to do isn't it to level the playing field absolutely yeah I mean with regards to that game look 23 for 5

of Heardik Bandia making 59 from 53 in the chase. They end up losing by five runs. He himself took a lot of blame for that. He was the only one of the top five, by the way, of Gujarat, who got into double figures. I'm concerned a little bit about Heardik Bandia as a T20 batter. He's scoring the runs, but he's taken this role

at number three or four for Gujarat, where he used to always be the finisher for the Mumbai Indians. He's still a finisher in the Indian national side, comes in at number six or seven sometimes, and that's his role. his strike rate has come down tremendously in the last couple of seasons. He's striking at 119 over the last two years. And Haddik Bandae's career strike rate in T20 cricket is over 150. So I think maybe it's something mental that he just didn't look like the Hadek Bandia of old

that he could just come in, get himself set and then just hit boundaries for fun. He just seemed to be struggling. I don't know if that's the weight of captaincy on his shoulders. He's been a good captain. He's been a great captain for Goodright. Don't get me wrong. But as a batter, is that affecting him? Ravi, when you start T20 competitions,

do you look around at the other teams and look at your own side? Do you think, well, actually, we're not quite as strong as we need to be to take down this lot? Or do you think actually looking around everything that's pretty equal? What's it like when you start a T20 competition?

Yeah, often you do look at your team and, you know, you have that, oh, my God, we've got such an amazing team, or you will look at it and go, we look a bit weak compared to some of the other teams. You know, the balance of the side, you know you might be missing like an all-rounder. You're thinking, I think we can slot in an all-rounder who can bat in the top six rather than somebody who bodes a bit and bats number eight.

So you look at those little, little details. You know, if I'm talking about leagues where you get direct signings, now there are some leagues where you do direct signings. So that's before the drafts or anything. they are the sort of leagues that then become a little bit unfair because then the guys with the biggest cash will get you know the the box office players Bangladesh is Bangladesh Premier League is an example generally you you'll get the richest owners by Sunona Ryan they'll buy Andre Russell Pollard and one other and you think as an opposition we can't compete with that well that you've got got them four as you're overseas or malinger or someone for example you got those four as you overseas and then the teams who can't spend that sort of money will go lower tier overseas cricketers and you think well when you look at that when you look at the two teams on sheet you

think well you're coming up against these overseas players against those but then it depends on your lot then when it comes to draft you know you got to pick very strong local players but what I do find over the course of a competition overseas players generally cancel each other out they all perform as good as each other pretty much apart from your absolute best of the best overseas players I would say someone like Sonoma Ryan

who in conditions like Bangladesh he's always going to do well he's going to go at sort of five and over all the way through the comp he's going to pick up with kits he's an exception most other overseas players will pretty much perform the same and some will be paid four times

as much as the other one but you'll get the same results and I guess that just comes down to selling selling sponsors on the shirt I guess when it comes to that sort of stuff so sometimes you do

but I think it's better when it's an even playing field because it's so much better for the competition okay we'll have more from Nick Eshragani and Ravi Bopara after this BBC 5 Live

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No one wants him. The Footballist Football Podcasts. Just bring it on. Listen on BBC Sounds. IPL cricket on five sports extra. Now one of the things that's happened in the IPL this week is that two of the fastest bowlers in the world, Andrick and Norquia and Joffra Archer

have both been hit for three successive sixes. Tuatia did it to Nokia. Liam Livingston did it to Joffra Archer. And if you weren't watching, Archer's response was to bowl a short baller, 150 kilometres an hour which is flying over Livingston's head and over the keeper for five wives. But then we also

saw Varen Chakravati winning a game for Delhi Capital's spinner bowling the last over the match and you don't think of spinners bowling the last over of matches. What is more important in a T20 game, Ravi? Spin or pace? I know you need a bit of both but is it too pace heavy? I know

I know spinners are involved in the game in India and I know spinners have done well, generally speaking, in T20 cricket, and in a way it's sort of revived them. But should we have more spin and less pace in T20 competitions? That's such an interesting question because we, a few days ago, we had a meeting at Sussex about T20 cricket and how we're going to go about it. And one of the subjects that came up was spin bowling and spin bowling at the death,

which I was really unsure with at the time we were talking about it. But the more I've thought about it, it's sort of starting to make a little bit more sense to me. Now, the thing with, we know spinners have been the best bowlers in T20 cricket. They're always at the top of the list, you know, average-wise, wickets, everything. They generally top the list. Are there too many pace? I think if you're going to be world-class pace bowler in T-20 cricket, you've got to have a good slowball. you can bowl 145

and when people are batting in the last four and someone's set and face 30 35 balls bowling 145 is not going to bother him at all he's only going to be bothered if you've got a very good slow ball and you can still bow 145 150 then you become world class and the best at that was malinga he could bowl 140, 145

and he had an unbelievable slow ball, which is why he was the best by far. No one's ever come close to him in terms of T20 fast bowlers. Joffar Archer and Anurich Norkier, they haven't quite

got that slowball yet. I know Archer used to bowl a really good knuckleball, but he probably hasn't bowled it for a while because he's been injured as well. I think we've got to also give a bit of room because he's been injured as well. But at some point, if he does develop a really good slowball,

ball, a real deceiving slowball, I think his game is going to go through the roof in terms of wickets and economy rates, everything. And, you know, he's already one of the best in the world as it is, but he could really take himself to the next level. And I think as a fast bowler, if you're bowling 140, 14, 145, just don't ignore the other skill of learning a very, very good slowball. Now, spinners bowling at death, okay, if the lower order's in, I think it's a great option. a mystery though. I don't think you can just run up and give an off spinner, here you go, bowl at the death, or just a left-arm spinner who's not turning it. If the wicket's not turning, it's just skidding on and you bow a left-arm spinner, it doesn't matter if there's a right-handed

there. There's a possibility that he could go for four, four, five, six is in the over. But you've got slightly lower order in, you know, sort of number six, seven, eight, nine. If you bring a little bit of mystery on at the death, that's really hard to hit because, A, you've got to hit it. You know, you can't use the pace and just squirt it off through point and you know flick it and ramp it over fine like that sort of almost goes out the game now you've got to bomb it straight and you know you got to hit it over the ropes and there's no pace on the ball so you have to have a good swing so it does test people's technique for swinging and when the ball you don't know which way the ball's going if you're not reading it you can't

read the googly or you can't read it's a leggy or whatever it then becomes even harder and it's a great wicket-taking option because you can you can pick up two three wickets very, very quickly and suddenly have them seven, eight down very quickly. So I think as this game goes, when you might start seeing more spinners bowling at the death. And Sussex bowling spinners at the death as well,

by the same, or possibly? Yeah, we could do, actually. It is on the cards. We've got Shadab Khan with us this summer. So who's a mystery spinner? Trying to hit him at the death. I'd love to see people trying to hit him at death, especially on a slightly grippy wicket,

on grounds that are slightly bit bigger give him the biggest boundary as well and say, well, here you go. Have a go at him. He might pick up two or three wickets. Well, it was fascinating to see Nittish Rana bowl, Trakirvati because he was going to go with Showder Taka. That was what he looked as if he was going to do that, and then he

changed his mind at the last moment and boy, did he come up trumps with that decision? His team won the match. Let's talk about the England players before we talk about Jaisal, who's been a real star in this season's T20 in this season's IPL. England plays.

Still no Ben Stokes. He hasn't played for over a month now. I mean, how concerned should England supporters be about that, do you think? Well, he's only played a couple of games. He's not played for over a month in the IPL. He's been out there. He's been on the bench. We were told he wasn't going to bowl at all in the IPL.

Then in the second game, he did bowl that one over, went for 18 runs. We don't know if he's tweaked anything to the extent that he's just completely unfit. bit and we don't know how long he's going to be out for with this injury. Massive concern, really, with the ashes coming up. And if it is something that he requires surgery on, it's probably too late now, given the time frame and given how close the ashes are.

So it's likely he'll play, but is he going to be hobbling around during the ashes? Is he that important as a captain that they just need him to do that no matter what? I mean, all these questions come to mind. When were we first aware of this injury? when was he first aware of this injury? Should it have been sorted at the start of the year if he knew about it then? And then, you know, even if he did have surgery

may well have been still fit enough for the ashes. All these questions come to mind. And it's incredibly frustrating for England fans, England test fans in particular, with the ashes coming up, just seeing him warming a bench, thousands of miles away, nursing an injury,

and not knowing whether or not he'll be fit this summer. Yeah, and you're also seeing, yeah, no stokes. You're seeing Joe Root not playing, sitting on his backside for Rajasthan. you're seeing Harry Brooke score nought and then nought and have a difficult time of it while meanwhile Steve Smith is playing in county championship cricket rabbi warming up nicely for the ashes yeah and a lot of people are angry at sussex I think that that's happening um what the spectators you mean supporters well I think or in the club I think not in the club but I think around you know other clubs

and stuff and and I've heard a lot of chat about why are you giving him an opportunity to get ready for the ashes. But anyway, look, it's a worry with Ben Stokes because if it's, if it's that bad, um, should he be worried about the rest of his career? You know, what, what if he doesn't ever bowl again? Um, you know, Flintoff went through a lot of sort of problems with his ankles and all sorts. And once, I think once people start having problems with their knees and, and ankles, they never really go away. They, they're always there and hanging around. Um, um, And the question after that becomes, how much more is he going to bowl? If he packs in his bowling, are England going to pick him as just a batsman?

So those sort of questions, I think those questions are probably going through his own mind. Do they pick him as a batsman and a leader? So, yeah, it's slightly concerning. I think for more on a personal level for him, I think we should think about more of a personal level for him. Because it's his career, you know. You can say what you want about fans and everything. he's chosen this career because it's you know cricket he loves it and he's he's doing it because he loves it and and that's what it's more that's what's more important i think is about it's about

ben stokes yeah definitely okay now nikes you've been talking to one of the stars of the ipel so far shabsy jais well he scored over 400 runs in this season's IPL strike rate around about the 160 area before we hear that chat what do you and rabbi think about his chances of playing for India. It's certainly on the cards. I mean, he's right up there at the top of the run scoring charts, as we said.

And, you know, he's a left-hander at the top of the order. He's 21 years old. He was hyped up quite a lot a couple of years ago and he got picked up for Rajasthan Royals initially in the IPL in 2020.

Such a young man, such a great backstory of sort of rags to riches kind of tale as we'll hear more about as well. And it seems like a very mature man given all that he's been through,

very much. mature young man, very well spoken, level-headed, not letting, you know, he scored 100 in this season's IPL at the Wankadi Stadium. He's an adopted Mumbai boy having sort of come down from Uttar Pradesh when he was very young, you know, and been through all those hardships. So to score it at the Wankardy Stadium as well meant a lot to him, but it's not got to his head at all. None of this success has. He's become an overnight millionaire pretty much as a result of being in the IPL at such a young age, but such a mature guy. such a talented ball striker, and he can clear the ropes, he can sort of play the touch

shots and the guides and the flicks and everything like that. He can ramp, he can scoop. He can do everything, to be honest. And you look at somebody like him and maybe a Rutheraj Gai Khaikwa, who plays for Chennai Superkings as well, as the future of Indian T20 cricket, certainly, if not ODI cricket in a few years as well. Look, he's definitely got a sniff now to have a look in the Indian side. We've seen India pick players from the IPO previously. So he's definitely in with a chance. I still like, you know, Guy Quad as my first choice of the next one in at the top of the order.

But it's always nice to have another youngster there who's a left-hander as well. I think that definitely helps having a left-hander at the top. Maybe both of them, you know, open the batting. Nice young opening batting combination. They're both good enough. They're experienced enough now. they've shown that they can play under that sort of

in that sort of level okay let's hear from Jaiswell he's been speaking to Nikesh Yesha Sviy thank you very much for joining us here on the BBC great to have you with us first and foremost let's just talk about how you're feeling and how this season

has gone so far for the Rajasthan Royals the team's doing well you're doing well you must be feeling great yeah it's just pleasure to be here at BBC and I yeah it means it's it's been amazing i'm really enjoying it this memories this moment and i just want to like keep it with me and i i whenever i remember i need to use it and i need to enjoy also to what i

did i'm proud of myself i'm happy but i need to just look forward and keep doing the same thing and go out there and enjoy express myself yeah and that work ethic that you've got is obviously look, let's rewind a little bit back. You're 21 years old, but you've had a hell of a journey already to get to where you were. Let's take it back to right when you left home as a 10-year-old to go and pursue this cricket dream. I mean, take us back and tell us a little bit more detail about how difficult that must have been for you, leaving your family behind to pursue this cricket dream of yours. I think it wasn't easy. That's for sure. I left when I was really young and I left my village. I went to Mumbai. I stayed in tent. I used to sell

panipuri and I was I was working here and there that moment. I was really young but I had I had something to achieve. I had motto to do I had dream and yeah it was tough because where I was leaving there was no electricity no water no good water and we had to cook our own food and you know you don't have enough place to practice because you know the people who have more connection they can come and they can have practice and then that's how i was learning that i had to go early on the ground in in a way i was in the ground and i used to wake up really early and i used to go the first person i used to be and i used to be having a lot of practice session with one of my coach he used to come his name is pappu sir i call it papu sir he

He was really nice to me when I was with him at that time. It's been like long journey and in a really young age, I would say. But yeah, I need to just keep doing the same thing which I have been in from last more than 10 years, I guess. And yeah, I'm just, that that gives me really much confidence, that fighting spirit. And, you know, in Mumbai, you have to fight for everything. everything. Even you are going to get a local train, even you are going to get some food, even you are going to get anything. You have to fight and you have to be like, okay, I want, I really want this. Then that's how you will get it. And that, that I think for me, when I scored century, my first ideal century in Mumbai, it's, it's kind of emotional a lot, a lot because where I used to live, from there, I used to see the light of Wanchre Stadium and I always wanted to go and, play there for my country. I had a dream to play for my country and even IPL. And I always used to think whenever I saw that noise, I mean I hear that noise and saw that light, I used to think

one day I will be playing there. For that, whenever I, in the night, I used to do my shadow practice like hours and hours. I was just keep thinking to improve my skills and I used to do a lot of shadow practice. Then, yeah, that all these things, which reminds me, I was thinking and still it's it's with me and I always carry them with me whenever I'm go down yeah I'm deep I'm not motivated or maybe I need some strength I always look back and I visualize what I was doing how I came from my village and what I was doing in village and when I came to Mumbai how I was thinking how I was wanted how I was wanted to do the do well in all these games whenever I get this small opportunity in everything

for me it's all worth it whatever opportunity i get it i'll be like yeah this is my opportunity i will try try and give it my best whatever will happen it will happen it is okay if i perform it it's fine if i don't then also it's fine i'll need to keep keep doing the same thing keep fighting it and whenever i get chance and whatever i create because i also think like if you work hard then only you create chances and luck i mean it's been quite some journey you've told us in some detail about the sort of fight and determination. Yeah, absolutely, in such a short space of time, all that fight and determination you had to go through to get to where you are. And I was just going to touch on that, actually. You mentioned the century at the Wankadi

Stadium as well. You're sort of adopted home city now of Mumbai and visualizing playing in there. You could visibly see, I mean, look, to the TV cameras, you might have seemed pretty cool when you were celebrating that century. I could see some raw emotional. There's a motion there. Yes. I mean when I close, because when I just raised my hand and I close my eyes, it just flashed back everything, I guess. Yeah, wonderful moment for you and hopefully many more to come as well.

Yeah, I wish. And to do it for the Rajasthan Royals, you know, the only franchise that you've played for in the IPL, of course, you know, picked up in 2020 as a very young man and we heard about your story initially. Back then, how has the franchise been in terms of developing? you not just as a cricketer but as a person as well I think I always like feel like whenever I come here it's like my family and they have treated me like a family but I I would say as a person as a cricketer everything what I have learned from here and I as I have grown as a cricketer and as a person it's

been a lot means I really want to thank you all the all the support staff my coaches and my trainer, S&C, and, you know, the players who is around here and especially, I would like to thank you, Sangha, sir, and Zubin, sir, and Manoj, sir. Like, the way they have, they have, you know, grown me in a way, like going out there and experience different things. That's the coaching staff and the management you mentioned there. of course your teammates would have been very important in this journey as well and probably none more so than your opening partner joss butler how has it been playing with somebody like

joss butler who has been so successful like jose by with i you know whenever i go out there and whenever i have doubts and in something it's in mind he just give me you me really really nice message which i can put in my mind and i can keep going and you know whenever i'm going to bad with him into the pressure situation there is message which come from him it's so clear and you know the experience he have of course I trust all the all the time and yeah like there's a lot of learning from him as a cricketer and outside the field how he manages his his self his his life all without seeing without saying I can learn a lot from him because the way he lives I guess that there's a process

in terms of training and all the sort of routines you go through with your batting and with the bowlers and all that kind of stuff in the lead up to the match, the team meetings. I want to know what else you do personally. What kind of music do you listen to on match day? What do you have for breakfast on match day? Do you even have breakfast? Do you get up past lunchtime? You probably do. Yes, 100%. I love to follow my routine what I do every day because that makes me stronger because I believe. And more on that, I believe in me and myself. I trust in myself that whatever situation will be happening I will manage and I'll be giving my best and what I'm talking alone to myself and what preparation I'm doing mentally that is I guess it is

it has been consistent from last three years because that makes me more stronger each and every day doesn't mean that you can get mentally strong in just a few weeks it took you it takes time it takes routine it takes discipline i guess that discipline i have been following that that makes me more stronger and keep i'm keep motivating myself all the time whenever i'm going down or getting information on all the senior players and putting into my mind which works for me you talked about that mental space let's get specific then what what kind of music is on your playlist on a match day it's not like uh what kind of music like i love hearing you know my heart go on song and i'm a big fan selen dion wow yes kate winslet and whenever i hear that i make myself

happy then uh you know there is a lot of music whichever i like at that moment i will hear okay any any upbeat sort of give us some desey tunes like i can imagine you you know jigging to a bit of bungra maybe when you're getting in the zone bunga no i always say i always sing one line of my heart will go on which creates some memories on my mind which i really want to do in my life every night in my dreams i see you and i feel you that that that is the way where i visualize myself doing what i really want yeshsvue one day when you find a partner to settle down with they're going to love you you're going to be serenading them with that song aren't you i'm still searching let's see when it will happen i would love to have really nice girl in my life someday

absolutely yeah no you got plenty of time left at the moment still a very young man of course my i think you focused at the moment yeah absolutely and what about the future for yeshashviy jesvail in terms of career wise you've played for india under 19s that that surely must be the next ambition to to play for the national senior side and and where that Tirangha on your helmet. I, every night this, this, I feel that one day I will chase my dream. And that's, that is only the reason when I started playing cricket, I guess, and I'm also waiting for it when God will, God will make it happen.

But I need to just keep doing my thing, my process rights and working on my game and what will happen it will happen what is in my destiny it will be happening or it will happen then i'm not worry about that i am patient i have my patience when it when it the chance will come i wish i will grab it and i will just just do because i love cricket and just i need to go and express myself and whatever it will happen god will take care of it or i'll just do what i do well yesha's best of luck with all that. Thank you very much for joining us here on the BBC TMS podcast.

It's been a great pleasure. Thank you. It's been pleasure to be at BBC and thank you so much for all your kind words and it's just thank you. IPL cricket on five sports extra. That was your Shavsi Jaiswal, talking to Nikesh. You can hear more IPL commentary

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