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Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali sent a bold message to out-of-form Yashasvi Jaiswal to bring his focus back to cricket and love the sport to avoid a fate borne by Prithvi Shaw, who was at one point considered a young sensation bound to be a blockbuster hit in international cricket for India.
Jaiswal has lost his mojo since returning from Australia after a heartbreaking 3-1 series defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A young talent who took the world by storm since bursting onto the scene in 2023 is now a victim of criticism stemming from his lacklustre performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Apart from notching up 67 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jaiswal's bat has resorted to silence. The 23-year-old, who was Rajasthan Royals' knight in shining armour, is now in a position to live up to his reputation as games come thick and fast in the action-packed, cash-rich league. While a player is destined to go through an underwhelming run in his career, Basit sees Jaiswal's shambolic run in the premier T20 tournament as a result of a lack of focus. "His stomach has filled. Jaiswal isn't focusing on cricket. This is my open message: Cricket can make you cry a lot. Look at Prithvi Shaw. Love cricket and bring passion," Basit said on his YouTube channel. While Jaiswal continues his quest to regain his lost swagger, Priyansh Arya and Sai Sudharsan are at the centre of attention with their blistering performances. Punjab Kings opener Priyansh shattered a handful of records as he walloped to a 39-ball century against a star-studded Chennai Super Kings. Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans opener Sudharsan continued to experience euphoria with a rich vein of form. He tore apart the Rajasthan Royals with a watchful eye and a systematic approach en route to 82 from 53 deliveries. With 273 runs in five matches, Sudharsan sits in the second spot in race to Orange Cap. As new talent continues to be unearthed in the Indian setup, Basit believes stalwart Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's decision to retire from the T20 format after a successful World Cup campaign in 2024 was the right choice, considering the pool of talent they have. "Rohit and Virat made the right decision to retire. I felt Virat shouldn't have retired, but it was the right decision. India has a lot of players," Basit added. (ANI)
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