Jayant Yadav

Jayant Yadav is one of the rare modern-day players to have paved his way into the Test side with the sheer weight of domestic performances despite having stayed away from the glitz and glory of the Indian Premier League. A spin-bowling all-rounder who can play both his roles with equal proficiency, Jayant created a buzz immediately after he arrived at the Ranji scene in 2011.

His debut for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy, at the age of 21, yielded six wickets to contribute in his team's demolition of Gujarat. He didn't make much of an impact in the following games, before playing against the visiting England side where he snared 4 wickets in the first innings. Jayant Yadav, with his neat good-boy looks, was starting to slowly build his reputation as a domestic giant and was surely at the verge of advancement into a higher level of cricket.

After honing his spin bowling skills over the years, along with his orthodox batting skills, Yadav has managed to continue his steady climb through the ranks as his talent has shone through in recent years. After topping Haryana's wicket-taking charts in 2014-15, he was qualitatively assessed as one of the smartest, most level-headed off-spinners in the country.

The fact that he managed to grab the limelight despite the presence of Ravichandran Ashwin's brilliance in the Test whites was a testament to his talent and composure. He was soon promoted with a spot in the India A squad in the home series against South Africa and Bangladesh. As the Jayant wave started to spread, the Delhi Daredevils IPL franchise signed him in 2015 as a rookie off-spinner. He made his inaugural IPL appearance against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite not being able to cement his spot in the side, he has made moderate, containing contributions whenever he has been required to do so.

As a lower-order batsman, Jayant isn't merely a bits-and-pieces player; he is a batsman with a solid base technique with no glaring weaknesses against pace or spin. With consistent scores of note in the domestic fold, starting from his maiden hundred in 2012 which he converted into a double-hundred (211) in a record-hemorrhaging 392-run stand for the eighth wicket with Amit Mishra.

After consistent performances in the domestic fold and the IPL, Jayant first came into the national reckoning when he was selected in the Indian ODI squad for the 2016 tour of Zimbabwe along with some other promising youngsters. Under the coaching of Rahul Dravid in the India A side, Jayant's steadily growing talent and level-headedness was recognized and singled out as he made a more traditional grind to the top of the Test ladder.

He was selected in the squad for the home Test series against England, and made his debut in Visakhapatnam. Jayant impressed with both bat and ball, taking four wickets across two innings and scoring 26* and a crucial 37 with the bat in the first innings which pulled India to a larger total in a low-scoring Test. Another all-round performance in Mohali with a half-century and 4 wickets was followed by just one wicket (that of Joe Root) in Wankhede. He compensated for his aberration in bowling with his maiden Test ton at the Wankhede, playing a vital role India's 4-0 demolition of England in the 5-Test series.

After a hugely successful series against England, came the wristspin epidemic that caught the world by storm, particularly after Kuldeep Yadav and his capitulation of the Aussies in the deciding home Test at Dharamsala in 2017. The magnitude of the storm can be gauged by the fact that even the most successful off-spinner of the era, R Ashwin, has started to bowl leg-breaks by the end of 2017. This meant that Jayant Yadav would fall by the wayside as India preferred the fast-bowling all-rounder in Hardik Pandya and wristspinners like Kuldeep, leaving a well-nigh impermeable scope for finger-spinning all-rounders due to their lack of versatility and effectiveness on less helpful surfaces. However, Jayant continues to impress in Ranji cricket, and his performances remain as steady as ever so that he can make his way into national reckoning whenever necessary.

Written by Rishi Roy