Youngster Who Sold 'Pani Puri' Gets Selected in World Cup Squad; Details Listed

Wise people say, "If you really want something, the world will conspire against the odds and bring it to you". The 17-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal who sold 'pani puri' in the streets of Mumbai has made it big in his life by getting placed in India's U-19 World Cup Squad.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is a son of a shopkeeper in Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh) who came to Mumbai at the age of 11 with the ambition to make it big in Cricket. His perseverance made him sell pani puris in the streets of Mumbai to cover the expenses of his domestic cricket.

Though he played just 10 games (9 List A matches and 1 First-class game), his notable career which also includes his record-breaking performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy has grabbed him the opportunity to represent Team India in U-19 World Cup.

Notable Career

Yashasvi played for Mumbai in the domestic tournament held in September- October. In one of the matches, he scored 203 off 154 balls with 12 sixes and 17 boundaries, thus becoming the youngest batsman to score a double hundred in List A Cricket.  Overall, he scored 564 runs at a phenomenal average of 112.80 with 3 centuries and one half-century.

"Yes, I felt embarrassed when a friend caught me selling pani puri. But that doesn't stop me from having it today. I eat it whenever possible. Those days I will always remember. I have to remember where I came from. I will try to stay the same and keep working hard," Yashasvi was quoted by India Today in one of his earlier interviews.

The U-19 50 over World Cup will be played in South Africa in January-February next year and the young Yashasvi's placement in the team could be seen as the likes of great achievers of the Indian Cricket team - Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, etc who came from U-19 formats.