Former England skippers Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan have hit out at Ben Duckett for his controversial comments about young Team India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed his second successive double hundred against the Three Lions in the just-concluded third Test in Rajkot.

 

Ben Duckett, who struck a blistering 153 off 151 balls in the first innings of the Rajkot Test, opined that his team should get credit for the manner Yashasvi Jaiswal had gone about his business in the series. The 22-year-old Indian batter, who batted with caution during the initial part of his essay at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, subsequently, put his foot on the accelerator to remain unbeaten on 214 off 236 deliveries.

“When you see players from the opposition playing like that, it almost feels like we should take some credit that they’re playing differently than how other people play Test cricket,” Ben Duckett remarked after Yashasvi Jaiswal's record knock in Saurashtra. 

However, Nasser Hussain didn't like Ben Duckett's bizarre statement about Yashasvi Jaiswal, underlining that it was the other way around. He expressed that the 22-year-old didn't learn anything from England. Instead, it was his hard work that was paying dividends now.

 

Nasser Hussain urged the England team to learn from Yashasvi Jaiswal. 

 

“The comment on Jaiswal that he has learned from us, I am going to touch on that. He has not learned from you, he has learned from his upbringing and all the hard yards he has put in while growing up, he has learned from the IPL. If anything, I would look at him and learn from him,” Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports.

“So, whatever they are saying in public and in that dressing room, I hope they are going back into their room with self-introspection. I can look at that lad and learn from him. Otherwise, it becomes a cult, doesn’t it? At times, Bazball has been described as a cult where you cannot criticise either within or externally. Even in this regime, there is room for learning and improving,” he elaborated. 

Michael Vaughan agreed with Nasser Hussain's views on the matter, suggesting that Ben Duckett's comments were full of arrogance, besides remaining outside the purview of reality.

“Listen to them, and you would think nothing is ever wrong. Jimmy Anderson said they would chase 600 in Vizag. Ben Duckett said “the more the better” in terms of their target this week, but they fell 434 short. Duckett also reckons they deserve credit for the way Yashasvi Jaiswal is batting, as if no player in history has ever played an attacking shot,” Michael Vaughan wrote in his column for a media publication.

 

“They talk about not playing for the draw, but to me, that's disrespectful to Test cricket. The draw is a crucial part of the game, and in five-Test contest has often provided the bedrock of some great series victories,” the former England captain pointed out. 

The 22-year-old batter, who remained not out on 104 before retiring hurt on Saturday, returned to the 22 yards after the Rohit Sharma-led side lost Shubman Gill for 91 on Day 4 of the Test match at the Niranjan Shah Stadium.

 

Yashasvi Jaiswal left the field on Day 3 of the Test match in Rajkot due to back spasms and wasn't expected to take further part in the clash. However, the Indian training staff possibly worked hard on his fitness overnight to make him fit to bat the next day. 

 

Once he arrived at the crease, Yashasvi Jaiswal looked like the same player who had tormented the England bowlers the previous day.

 

Producing a knock of the nature of a Virender Sehwag, Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed sixes at will, toyed even with the likes of James Anderson, and in the process dented the confidence of England's bowlers so much so that they looked clueless, tired, and scared at the same time.

 

The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer seized his opportunity to convert his century into a double hundred, as he guaranteed that India would not lose the match after setting the Ben Stokes-led side a daunting target of 557 to win the match.

 

During the course of his unbeaten 214-run knock, which came off 236 balls, Yashasvi Jaiswal went on to create a flurry of records, including matching Pakistan legend Wasim Akram's feat of hitting the most number of sixes (12) in a Test innings.

 

Wasim Akram, a southpaw like Yashasvi Jaiswal, struck a dozen sixes against Zimbabwe in a Test innings in a game in 1996. The young Indian batter reached the same landmark against England.

 

Also, Yashasvi Jaiswal became the first player in the 147-year-old history of the sport to hit over 20 sixes in a single Test series. His tally of maximums after the Rajkot Test against England stood at 22.

 

In addition to that, he joined Virat Kohli and Vinod Kambli in the list of Indian batters who have scored double tons in consecutive Test matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal amassed a double hundred in the previous Test in Vizag as well. On the other hand, Vinod Kambli struck double centuries in back-to-back games against England and Zimbabwe in 1993, while Virat Kohli accomplished a similar milestone against Sri Lanka in 2017.

 

Among other records, he became the third Indian to score at least two double centuries in a Test series. Before Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vinoo Mankad and Virat Kohli had done it during their illustrious careers.

 

Besides, Yashasvi Jaiswal is the first Indian batter to score two double tons against England in the purest format. 

 

He is also the first batter from India to convert his first three centuries into scores of over 150 starting from his debut last year.

 

With his double ton helping India to achieve a massive 432-run victory over England in Rajkot, a delighted Yashasvi Jaiswal spoke about the motivation behind his long knocks in Test cricket. 

 

“In India, when you grow up, you work really hard for each and everything. Even when getting the bus you have to work really hard to get the bus. You have to work really hard to get to the train and auto and everything and I have done that since my childhood and I know how important every innings is and that's why I really work hard in my [practice] sessions and every innings counts for me and for my team that is my biggest motivation to play for my country and I just make sure that whenever I'm there I need to give my 100% and then enjoy,” the Mumbai-resident told the host broadcasters.

 

“The way Rohit bhai and Jaddu bhai played in the first innings, that motivated me a lot. Because the passion was there, the talk was there, they were really determined to play session by session and when I was inside [the dressing room] I kept thinking that when I go there I have to make it count. The way they were talking about the game, the way they motivated us, I think its incredible to see them putting a lot of effort,” he concluded.