Yashasvi Jaiswal’s move to leave Mumbai for Goa creates ripples

The Yashasvi Jaiswal saga, in which the Mumbai maidans have played a key role, took a surprising twist as he sought a transfer to play for Goa in the next season of domestic cricket.

The Indian opener, one of the biggest success stories in Indian cricket over the past two years, had written to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for a no-objection certificate — and it has been granted.

The move has been a major talking point in Indian cricketing circles throughout Wednesday, 2 April — and even during the IPL, as Jaiswal’s rags-to-riches story has grown into Mumbai cricketing folklore.

The 23-year-old’s early days saw him stay in a club tent on the Mumbai maidans, lending a hand to a panipuri seller to make some extra money, before local coach Jwala Singh took him under his wing to develop into the cricketer he is today.

Speaking to ESPNcricnfo, Shambhu Desai, secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), said: ‘’We are developing a good squad for Goa and want to get the best talent available, and hence we approached him (Jaiswal) recently.’’

Incidentally, Jaiswal is the third cricketer from Mumbai — after Arjun Tendulkar and Siddesh Lad — to switch over to Goa, though neither of the past moves have attracted so much speculation.

Breaking his silence on the decision, Jaiswal told Indian Express later in the day: "It was a very tough decision for me. Whatever I am today is because of Mumbai. The city has made me who I am and all my life, I will be indebted to the MCA.

"Goa has thrown me a new opportunity and it has offered me a leadership role. My first goal will be to do well for India and whenever I'm not on national duty, I will be playing for Goa and try to make them go deep into the tournament. This was an (important) opportunity which came my way and I just took it."

It's a move which seems to be aimed at strengthening his claims for IPL captaincy and in the long run establish him as one of the leaders at the national level. The downside, however, is movement to a lesser cricketing power like Goa would mean depriving himself from the opportunities of playing in knockout stages of Ranji Trophy as well as getting fewer matches in the white ball tournaments.

While a shot at captaincy looks a calculated gamble, there have been reports that Jaiswal had developed differences with some senior Mumbai players with a 'trust deficit' about his commitment for the state.

The last game he had played for Mumbai, they had lost to a resolute J&K despite the presence of international stars like Rohit Sharma — but the state made it to the semi-final. Jaiswal was due to play in the semi-final against Vidarbha in February, but was ruled out due to a right ankle injury during training ahead of the game.

Jaiswal, 23, has represented Mumbai since his Under-19 days and is one of the most sought-after players from the younger crop. He made his first-class debut for Mumbai in 2019 and has since played only 10 first-class games for them, scoring 863 runs at an impressive average of 53.93, which includes four centuries, two 50s and a highest score of 181 against Uttar Pradesh in 2022.