Yashasvi Jaiswal looks well-placed to carry forward the glorious legacy of batting excellence established by the likes of Sachin Tendukar and Virat Kohli, former India coach Greg Chappell said, waxing eloquent on the country's cricketing infrastructure and planning.
Writing in his column for the 'Sydney Morning Herald', Chappell said he was highly impressed with Jaiswal, who smashed a 161-run knock in the opening Test against Australia in Perth to be one among the architects of the visitors' 295-run win on Sunday.
"The young opener is fearless and seems to be ready to inherit the mantle of Indian batting supremacy, after the likes of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar," Chappell wrote.
Chappell, who was India head coach from 2005-2007, also commented that there was a wide gap in planning between the Indian and Australian cricketing setup when it came to grooming youngsters for traditional formats.
Jaiswal's journey encapsulates why India's planning and infrastructure give them a clear edge in world cricket. The young left-hander moved to Mumbai at 10 seeking the best competition to realise his dream of representing India, Chappell wrote.
"Considering the staggering odds of breaking into the Indian XI, his determination is remarkable. There are so many players in India who are good enough to play Test cricket, but some can't even get a game for their state team," said the former skipper, who had a fair idea about India's domestic structure.
Then, Chappell presented some numbers to contrast Jaiswal with 25-year-old Australian debutant Nathan McSweeney, who has played little so far despite being an older man.
"A comparison with Australia's Nathan McSweeney is illuminating. At 22, Jaiswal has played 14 Tests, 30 first-class matches, 32 List A games, and 53 IPL matches. By contrast, McSweeney, at 25, has just made his debut Test, with just 34 first-class, 22 List A, and 18 T20 matches under his belt."
Chappell, who had a great working relationship with the then captain Rahul Dravid during his days in India, praised his junior cricket programme at the National Cricket Academy.
He thinks Indian cricket's junior red-ball program has no parallel and there's an opportunity to play games. Occasionally, he's felt India U-19 was in a game that made the opposition feel it was a case of "men were playing with boys" and game awareness was much deeper.
"India's system under Rahul Dravid has always focused on long-form cricket at the youth level. This ensures that players are better equipped to understand the intricacies of the game.
"Australia's system is not giving young cricketers much opportunity. The system focuses more on school than competition for most of the year," he noted.
Chappell also remembered his encounter with a young Sarfaraz Khan some years ago.
"When I asked a young Sarfaraz Khan – who has played six Tests for India but can't break into this team – about the balance between cricket and school for him as a then 16-year-old, he said, 'Oh, I don't go to school, I can go to school later if I want to, but I only get one chance at cricket'," he recalled.
Chappell, who has himself had extensive experience working on Cricket Australia's junior talent development programme, cautioned stakeholders here that a lack of competitive games would hurt the maturing of young players.
"The lack of competitive matches at a young age leaves Australian players less well prepared to handle the challenges of international cricket. Nothing could be a substitute to what is gained by having an experience of playing good cricketing games.
"Without radical change in our development pathways, we risk further slippage."
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