‘Khelte Rehna’ – Jaiswal shares Rohit Sharma’s special message

In the fifth and final Test match against England at the Kennington Oval in London, India’s star batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal disclosed that former Indian Test captain and opening partner Rohit Sharma advised him to continue playing. The squad achieved 396 runs in the second innings, including a 374-run target for The Three Lions, thanks to the elegant opening batsman’s 118 runs off 164 balls.

During the 2021–22 tour, Rohit had a similar experience at The Oval, scoring 127 runs in the second innings to assist the Indian team win by 157 runs. On Day 3 of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, where India needs to win to avoid losing the series, the veteran graciously attended the event to see the action.

“I of course saw Rohit bhai and said hi to him, and he also gave me the message ki ‘Khelte Rehna’ (Keep playing),” Jaiswal revealed during the press conference after the end of day’s play as quoted by The Times of India.

Since making his debut in 2023, the left-handed Jaiswal has been opening for India in red-ball cricket on a regular basis. He and Rohit had a good relationship when Rohit was playing for the Whites. Jaiswal went on to say that playing with veterans like Virat Kohli and Rohit helped him deal with difficult surfaces, particularly during a lengthy five-match series.

“I keep getting all these messages and playing with the seniors as long as I have played with Rohit bhai, Virat bhai, so playing with them has helped me a lot to grow as a person, and seeing them what they have done in Test cricket. How they prepared themselves, so I really think it helped me, especially, to improve as a player. Also, playing with all my mates now, like with KL bhai, the way we chat and what we think about the game, and how we think about the game,” Jaiswal added.

The wicket is moving, therefore it won’t be simple for England: Jaiswal

The green top on the ground helped the Indian squad a little, but Jaiswal warned that it was not as simple as it appeared, pointing out the inconsistent bounce and seam movement available. In contrast to the preceding two days, when 21 wickets were lost, the surface softened up on Day 3. The surface’s transformation on the third day of the Test was unexpected.

“I think the ball is bouncing quite a bit, so chances were there that I could play my shots in that region (behind square). If we bowl in the channel, it will be amazing because there is movement in the wicket, swing and seam, it is not that easy to bat,” Jaiswal concluded.