IPL 2020: ‘He’s an exciting player for the future’- Star IPL batsman backs RR youngster to succeed

Uthappa has backed the youngster to become a big part of Indian cricket, hoping a successful IPL can raise his stocks even further.

The IPL has given Indian cricket many gems over the years. Look no further than Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, who started out as promising youngsters in the IPL and have now become feared Indian cricketers. Keeping up with the trend, Robin Uthappa, an IPL veteran, has earmarked yet another batsman who can do wonders for Indian cricket going forward, and he is none other than 18-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal.

An opener by trade, Jaiswal first made headlines last year, when he smashed 203 off 154 balls in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Jharkhand, becoming the youngest male double centurion in List A cricket. From there, he has only shown more promising, emerging as the highest run-getter in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, scoring 400 runs from six matches in India’s run to the final.

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Having last player competitive cricket in February, Jaiswal is gearing up for his maiden IPL stint, where he will be playing for the Rajasthan Royals. Impressed with what he’s seen of the youngster so far, Uthappa tips Jaiswal to become a big part of Indian cricket, hoping a successful IPL can raise his stocks even further.

“Yashasvi is a really exciting player for the future. I think he has performed extremely well in domestic cricket and having more IPL will be good for him in his pursuit of playing for India,” Uthappa said in a video uploaded on IPL’s Twitter handle.

With a little over a week left for the IPL, Uthappa reckons the tournament will being a sense of normalcy in the lives of people. Sporting activities across the world had been impacted because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but with everything gradually getting a move on, resumption of sports, let alone a T20 spectacle such as the IPL seems to go a long way in easing the lives of people and fans.

“Very happy to get back to playing, competing, and not just individually but as a team. I think that’s what I enjoyed a lot more... Most definitely, it is going to be really special this year, simply because of what we all have gone through as a human race,” Uthappa said.

“I think in this unpredictable time, we were and are craving for normalcy and this tournament and sports, in general, bring about that feeling of normalcy back into our lives.

“Indians and cricket lovers all around the world will really be looking forward to this tournament. So, in that sense, it is a big, big IPL. Having said that, I think as any other team, our desire and intention is to go out there and compete extremely well and hopefully win the tournament.”