Brian Lara believes Yashasvi Jaiswal will ‘do well’ on Test tour of Australia

Jaiswal has had a rousing start as India’s opener in the longest format, having amassed 1217 runs from 11 Tests at an average of 64.05 since his debut in the West Indies in July 2023. The challenge of a first trip to Australia, though, has proved too strong for many in the past, but Lara believes Jaiswal can conquer it as long as he keeps a strong mindset.

“With the IPL, you’ve got international players coming – and you’re feeding your players a different level of competition, which is great. So I don’t think there’s much that he (Jaiswal) has to do technically. I just think mentally [he has to adjust]: travelling away from home, [and] playing against Australia; Australia, on their shores, are a different beast.”

“First of all, they’re left-handers,” Lara said. “They’re very young, and they play the game in a style [that is] very attacking, very stylish. It’s great to see them go from strength to strength.”

Abhishek, 24, played 11 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2023, with Lara as head coach, before having a bumper 2024 campaign which propelled him into the Indian T20I setup after the T20 World Cup win. He is part of the Indian side currently facing Bangladesh in a T20I series, from which Jaiswal has been rested, as the Test team prepares for a three-match contest against New Zealand starting from October 16.

India then play the longest format on the tour of Australia, which begins with the first Test in Perth from November 22.