The 2015 movie “Legend” is the story of the real-life organised crime figures known as the Kray twins. East London gangster brothers named Ronald “Ronnie” Kray and Reginald “Reggie” Kray, both played by the veteran actor, Tom Hardy. Raised by a strong mother, Violet Annie Lee, as per the movie, the twins were two different kinds of monsters.Â
Reggie, a socially likeable, suave and street-smart yet ruthless boxer who doesn’t shy away from flaunting his power to get his way. Ronald, a “savagely petulant”, sly and psychotic prisoner who does not believe in mincing his words or take any pride in being socially liked.
When it comes to Yashasvi Jaiswal, his story is no less staggering than the rise of the Kray twins from a humble Haggerston family to the underground crime superpower of London. 4th youngest of the 6 children born to Bhupendra and Kanchan Jaiswal in Suriyawan, Uttar Pradesh, Yashasvi moved to Mumbai at the age of 10 to train at Azad Maidan and found a residence in a dairy shop in exchange for working there only to be evicted due to him often not finding time to work there.
This would lead to Jaiswal living in the tents with the groundsmen for the next 3 years, later being spotted by a Santacruz-based cricket academy owner named Jwala Singh, who would later become Jaiswal’s legal guardian. After 6 years of rising through the ranks in the Mumbai local tournament system later, Jaiswal would make it to the Indian U-19 World Cup team.
Jaiswal, a prospect forged with the shades of the two Haggerston-born lads, may it be his once-in-a-while malignant narcissism (more on that at the bottom) on the field or his sly, sometimes elegant, sometimes ugly yet powerful display of skill on the field regardless of the format across Ranji Trophy, IPL or Vijay Hazare Trophy. He knows his strengths, and he does not shy away from backing it or flaunting it.
Now obviously Jaiswal is no saint socially speaking, let’s go back to an incident from the Ranji Trophy 2022-23, where Jaiswal was sent off the field during a first-class game by his captain Ajinkya Rahane after multiple attempts to subdue Jaiswal while he had several verbal go’s at the opposition batters while fielding.
Safe to say, temper isn’t been the best attribute of Jaiswal’s conduct, but what is interesting about Jaiswal is his ability to exhibit a wide range of approaches in a game situation, no matter what the format is.
May it be his Duleep Trophy 2022 final knock of 265 off 323 against the South Zone when his team (West Zone) were behind by 57 runs. Full of patience and aggression across the 100+ overs that he was on the crease. hitting 30 boundaries and 4 sixes in the innings, along with long hauls of defending deliveries.
Or his unbelievable 13 ball 50 in the IPL 2023 against Kolkata Knight Riders where he smashed the first over itself for 26, reaching his fifty in the third over of the innings itself and ending the season with 623 runs striking at 163 with 5 fifties and 1 century.
Or his prolific vigils in the Under 19 Asia Cup 2018 and the Under 19 World Cup 2020, where he was the highest run-getter for India in both the tournaments. Jaiswal is a potential legend in the making with his flamboyance, strong yet smart style of batting. Whatever happens to him in the future, it is safe to say that he has already shown so many signs of greatness.
