Yashasvi Jaiswal is not taking his form for granted: Zaheer Khan

Zaheer Khan commended Yashasvi Jaiswal for his stellar batting prowess, securing a half-century on Day 1 of the fifth Test match against England on Thursday, March 7.

The southpaw has been in sparkling form ever since his debut in international cricket last year. On Thursday, he scored a vital 57 off 58 and added 104 alongside captain Rohit Sharma for the first wicket. During his innings, Yashasvi became only the second Indian batter after the iconic Sunil Gavaskar to amass 700 runs in a bilateral Test series. He also became the fastest Indian to obtain the 1,000-run mark in Test cricket, achieving this milestone in just 16 innings.

The ex-Indian pacer lauded the consistent display of the young batter. Zaheer Khan spoke highly of the young opener's determination to amass runs and avoid complacency in his form, which he saw as a great positive sign.

“The hunger to score runs is something which is very evident, for a player to have this kind of approach so early in his Test career is something which gets everyone excited right now when you're looking at him and the way he's approaching the game. That potential is going to be immense. He's raised everyone's expectations which he will have to live up to, and that's gonna add more pressure. But there are a lot of good signs when you're looking at him the way he's approaching the game, he's not abusing his form,” Zaheer said while speaking to Sports18.

“He just wanted to consolidate his form, not take the form for granted is something which is very important. So he's showing all those right kind of signs for these kinds of performances to come more consistently in future. These kinds of series as an individual, you don't have many in your career. So he's got a great opportunity to build himself this kind of repetition where it's just going to consistently score these kind of runs,” Zaheer added.

Yashasvi has amassed 712 runs from nine innings so far in the series at a staggering average of 89 and an impressive strike rate of 79.91. He has struck 26 sixes in the series, which is the most by an Indian batter against a particular side in Test cricket. So far, he has three fifties and two double-hundreds in the series.

India have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. With their strong start in the batting innings, India is in a favorable position to clinch their fourth consecutive victory in the series and end it on a high.

Also Read: 'India have got world-class spinners' - Graeme Swann highlights England batter's struggles in ongoing series