AUS vs IND: Alastair Cook lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal's 'bowling too slow' jibe against Mitchell Starc during Perth Test

Team India’s rising star batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who initially got out cheaply in his first-ever knock on the Australian shores, produced a magnificent daddy century (161) in the second innings of the first Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25), propelled the visitors to a memorable victory by a mammoth 295-run margin against Australia.

Interestingly, during his marathon knock, the 22-year-old displayed immense confidence to the extent that he did not shy away from giving the Australia speedster, Mitchell Starc, a taste of his own medicine, after he had tried to rattle the debutant Harshit Rana by saying that he bowls faster than the youngster and also has a long memory. An unfazed Jaiswal tried to return the favour by telling Starc at point blank that he was bowling at him “too slow” at one stage of India’s innings.

This incident left the whole cricket fraternity with the fact that Jaiswal was playing his first-ever Test on Australian soil and no young batter ever took on a premier pacer in that fashion. In the aftermath, several former cricketers shared their views on the whole incident involving Jaiswal and Starc. Now joining the bandwagon, the former England Captain and opener, Alastair Cook, chimed in on the Jaiswal-Starc saga and his thoughts on the rising star of the Indian batting.

Cook did not shy away from admitting that during his time on the 22 yards, he had faced Mitchell Starc and can confirm that he was fiery fast. So, in no way Starc was a slow bowler. Hence, he would better be happy facing Starc quietly if he was actually bowling slower than he usually does. However, the way Jaiswal mocked him while standing tall on the crease, shows his immense confidence.

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"Sledging Mitchell Starc, saying at a certain stage, I think he wasn't on 100, he wasn't on anything on a major score, but he's telling him you're bowling slow," Cook told TNT Sports.

"And I've faced Mitchell Starc and he certainly doesn't bowl slow. And if he was bowling slow, I'd keep my mouth shut and not wind him up, but have the confidence to do that as a 22-year-old," he added.

Cook rates Jaiswal as ‘classy’ player

Furthermore, Alastair Cook also shared his thoughts on how Yashasvi Jaiswal has batted against Australia in the BGT 2024-25 Test series. He unflinchingly called Jaiswal a ‘classy player’. Besides, the former England Captain also lauded his fearless batting against his country earlier when the Ben Stokes-led side toured India. Notably, back in 2012, Cook had successfully led England to a historic series victory over India.