"There is no place for ego there" - Former India opener on Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has opined that Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to keep his ego aside heading into the second Test against South Africa. He highlighted that the left-handed opener needs to play Marco Jansen cautiously at the start of his innings.

The second Test between India and South Africa is scheduled to start in Guwahati on Saturday, November 22. Jaiswal managed only 12 runs in the first innings and was dismissed for a duck in the second innings, falling prey to Jansen both times, in the first Test in Kolkata.

On the Star Sports show 'Game Plan,' Chopra pointed out that Jaiswal has had issues against left-arm seamers in all formats and needs to give himself time against Jansen at the start of his innings.

"He is having slight problems against left-armers. We have seen that with Yashasvi Jaiswal across three formats, both at home and away. The thing that goes in his favor is that he plays for the Rajasthan franchise, and he has even played IPL games in Guwahati. So, at least he will have a slightly better idea of the conditions," the analyst said.

"I think he will continue to have an attacking approach, but he needs to give himself a little time, especially against Marco Jansen. How long a spell can Marco Jansen bowl? He can take the others to task, but Marco Jansen is a genuine threat. The road to improvement goes through acceptance. He will have to accept that this is a problem. There is no place for ego there," he added.

Yashasvi Jaiswal inside-edged a Marco Jansen delivery onto his stumps while attempting a cut shot in the first innings of the Kolkata Test. He nicked an away-going delivery from the left-arm seamer to Kyle Verreynne behind the stumps in the second innings of the series opener.

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"As you grow as a batter, you also need to be more judicious in your shot selection" - Saba Karim on Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal is known for batting aggressively at the top of the order. [P/C: Getty]

On 'Game Plan,' former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim noted that Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to be more judicious in his shot selection.

"The approach was fine, but as you grow as a batter, you also need to be more judicious in your shot selection. I can understand that you are a swashbuckling opener, you want to have that kind of an attacking mindset, but you also need to pick the right ball and the right surface to play such shots," he said.

The former India selector added that the 23-year-old seemed to be impatient in the Kolkata Test.

"I didn't see that with Yashasvi Jaiswal's effort. He got a special delivery from Marco Jansen in the second innings, but whatever transpired in the first innings, this goes to show that he was losing patience. He wanted to get off the mark or play those big shots very early in his innings," Saba observed.

Saba Karim acknowledged that Yashasvi Jaiswal's template is to score quickly in the initial part of his innings and then build on it. However, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that at times, players need to change the pattern of their scoring to make big runs and stitch partnerships.