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Home > Sports News > Cricket News > Article > Mumbai Test I am happy to bat at No 9 says Jayant Yadav

Mumbai Test: I am happy to bat at No. 9, says Jayant Yadav

Updated on: 12 December,2016 09:40 AM IST  | 
Ajit Bezbaruah |

Ton-up Jayant Indian all-rounder Yadav is delighted to contribute down the order during the fourth Test between India and England; says he’s always been a handy batsman

Mumbai Test: I am happy to bat at No. 9, says Jayant Yadav

Jayant Yadav en route his 104 against England on Day Four of the fourth Test at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Jayant Yadav en route his 104 against England on Day Four of the fourth Test at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
Jayant Yadav en route his 104 against England on Day Four of the fourth Test at Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera


India's bowling all-rounder Jayant Yadav first went for coaching to RP Sharma of Young Friends Cricket Club at Harbaksh Stadium in Delhi's Cantonment area as a nine-year-old to train as an off-spinner. When Sharma asked him to bowl at an under-14 camp, the coach was surprised with his guile, deception and control. Sharma thought that the boy is promising, and if trained well, Jayant can develop into a good off-spinner.


Jayant lives in Delhi's Janakpuri area, but the Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) could not accommodate him once he started playing at the U-19 level and he had to look for other options. The move to Haryana was easy, as his father Jai Singh belonged to Rohtak. And it was then that his love for batting developed and he started contributing with both bat and ball on a regular basis.


When contacted, Vijay Yadav, Jayant's U-19 coach then and now the current coach of the Haryana Ranji team, told mid-day that he always knew Jayant would one-day shine with the bat because he has the making of a good batsman with all kind of shots in his armoury.

"When I met him with the Haryana U-19 team, what impressed me about him is that though he always qualified to play in the team as an off-spinner, he always contributed with the bat. He is not a very defensive batsman and can play the big shots whenever required," said Vijay.

Jayant showed his batting prowess when he scored 211 against Karnataka in Hubli in the 2012-13 Ranji season after which he was selected for the India 'A' team too. "When he was selected for the India 'A' team he used to pick two-three wickets regularly. But I always wanted that he gets an opportunity to bat because I was sure that his batting would always give him the edge. And yesterday, he showed that he can bat," added Vijay.

"I have always been a handy batsman, ever since I started playing in junior cricket. But as I came up the ranks, I always wanted to build this side of my game and my Ranji Trophy team really helped me do it. Even though I was batting down, I batted responsibly and it helped me grow as an all-rounder," Jayant said after becoming the first Indian No. 9 batsman to score a Test hundred.

When asked if he would like to bat up the order at some point of time, the off-spinner said: "I scored my double hundred at No. 9, I scored my first Test hundred at No. 9, I am happy at No. 9."

"He started taking his batting seriously when he was playing U-19 cricket for Haryana. He was with me from the age of nine till he played in the U-22 category and I could see that he loves his batting and used to work very hard to improve it. Actually, he is a very sensitive and quiet boy, not very naughty and I am very glad to see him do well in international cricket and score a hundred during a crucial stage of the match," said his childhood coach Sharma.

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