From Bhadohi to Roseau, India’s latest opening sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal hums a happy tune Premium

Yashasvi Jaiswal, 17, left his village in Bhadohi for Mumbai, selling snacks to make ends meet. His hard work paid off as he became the youngest double-centurion in List A cricket, then the youngest to score a Test hundred on debut. He has adapted to senior cricket with ease, showing determination and temperament. He is now India's top-order hope.

Yashasvi Jaiswal wasn’t born when Titanic was released.

James Cameron’s classic remains one of the most loved films of our time, 26 years after it reached cinemas and garnered a record 14 Oscar nominations. One of Titanic’s highlights was the song, My Heart Will Go On. Sung by Celine Dion, it was the theme song of the film and is one of the largest-selling singles of all time.

It is Jaiswal’s favourite song (that it was picturised on his favourite actress Kate Winslet is an added attraction). Listening to the song makes him happy.

He is particularly fond of the song’s opening lines -- Every night in my dreams/ I see you, I feel you. He often hums those lines.

He must have done it quite a few times when he watched, from a distance, the bright lights at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on a night of an IPL match or an international game. As he listened to the noise from the stadium, he would imagine, one day, the fans there would be cheering for him.

That dream came true in spectacular style a couple of months ago as he smashed 124 off just 62 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Mumbai Indians. That was his first hundred in the IPL, something he must have been looking forward to ever since he was picked by the Royals for Rs. 2.4 crore, 12 times his base price.

He was just 17 then, and the onset of the coronavirus was just a few weeks away. Because of the pandemic, the 2020 edition of the IPL was staged in the UAE.