Rahul Dravid finds Yashasvi Jaiswal's stunning rise 'hard to imagine': 'Don't think many people...'

Yashasvi Jaiswal's dream year continued as he marked his first Test in Australia with an imperious 161 in the second innings and former India head coach Rahul Dravid feels that the youngster can only get better from here. Jaiswal had fallen for a duck in the first innings but he followed up with an innings in which he went through the gears almost effortlessly. Rahul Dravid was head coach when Yashasvi Jaiswal made his international debut(Getty Images)

The 22-year-old's knock played a crucial role in India winning the Test by a whopping 295 runs. They thus became the first team to beat Australia in a Test at the Perth Stadium. “Jaiswal has been going from strength to strength. It's hard to imagine that a year and a half ago he made his debut in the West Indies. It's not long ago that he actually started,” said Dravid on Star Sports.

Dravid was India's head coach when Jaiswal made his international debut in the first Test against the West Indies in Dominica. Jaiswal smashed 171 runs off 387 balls in that match in a 229-run opening partnership with captain Rohit Sharma and a 110-run partnership with Virat Kohli. While Dravid stepped down as India's head coach after leading the team to the T20 World Cup title this year, he will continue working with Jaiswal in the IPL. Dravid is head coach of the Rajasthan Royals for whom Jaiswal plays.

‘He is only going to keep getting better and better’

Dravid said that the fact that Jaiswal played a match-winning knock in his first-ever Test in Australia is unique. “To go to Australia, to play in Perth, and in your first Test match, get a hundred in Australian soil, I don't think many people have been able to do that. I'm sure someone like him, with his hunger, his desire, his drive, he is only going to keep getting better and better,” said Dravid.

The century was Jaiswal's third this year and fourth overall in Test cricket. Jaiswal has scored 1280 runs in 23 Test innings this year alone at an average of 58.18. Overall, he has made a whopping 1568 runs in 15 Tests at an average of 58.07. Jaiswal has also played 23 T20Is for India, scoring 723 runs at a strike rate of 164.11 and average of 36.15. He has five half-centuries and a century in the format.

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