Tejasvi, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s elder brother, resumes cricket after handling family’s responsibility

For Tejasvi Jaiswal, elder brother of Yashasvi Jaiswal, cricket was a dream interrupted by reality. In 2012, when the Jaiswal brothers moved from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai to become cricketers, it felt like the beginning of a shared journey. But life pushed Tejasvi away from the cricket field long before he was ready to let go of it.

By the end of 2013, with the family struggling financially, he quit cricket and shifted to Delhi to work as a salesman. A job became a necessity, not a choice. Cricket shifted from routine to memory. Yet, even as he worked to support the family, he clung to one belief: the day Yashasvi made it, he would find the courage to chase his own unfinished dream again.

“When I left to work, my family wasn’t in a good condition (financially). But even when I was working, my mind wasn’t really in it. After a few days, I settled into it because it was a compulsion — our necessity. Still, there was always this hope that when Yashasvi makes it big, I’ll start playing cricket again. I never thought that I wouldn’t be able to play. It was always in my mind that I would definitely play one day. And I used to tell my brother the same. He then supported me a lot (after establishing himself). It’s because of him that I’m able to play today. He is my everything!” he said after Tripura’s stunning Super-Over win against Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium B-Ground in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Tejasvi didn’t restart cricket with a plan or a contract. He restarted with uncertainty. It was Yashasvi who encouraged him to make the move to play for Tripura. What began as a short trip to play a couple of matches, followed by a pandemic, slowly evolved into training again, then opportunity — and eventually, stability.

“My brother sent me to Tripura to play. The first time I went was just to play a couple of matches in 2019. When I returned to Delhi, COVID happened. So, I couldn’t play properly and had nothing established there in Tripura. I waited, and in 2021, after around seven years away from cricket, I left my job in Delhi and started practising again.

“Luckily, when IPL 2021 was suspended, the Rajasthan Royals camp needed bowlers for practice, and I went there with my brother. My cricket really started from there. After spending a lot of time bowling (medium-pace) there, I was roped in as a net bowler. I travelled with the team for the Dubai leg, and when I returned to Tripura, my entire playing scene was proper by then,” he said.

The comeback wasn’t just about skill, it demanded physical rebuilding too. “I had to train harder because I was weighing a lot at that time. My weight gradually started coming down, and I still have to get even fitter,” he said.

The 28-year-old scored his maiden T20 fifty (51 off 37 balls, 1×4, 4×6) against Uttarakhand on the very same day his younger brother registered his maiden ODI century against South Africa in Visakhapatnam. Their father was “very happy,” he said, that both his sons are playing cricket now. After their respective knocks, the brothers spoke over the phone, and Yashasvi’s message to him was simple: “Enjoy the opportunity.”

Like his younger brother, Tejasvi is a left-hand batter. When he steps out to bat, he carries not just his own experience, but also the voice of someone who has lived the grind, learned the game the hard way, and continues to guide him.

“I learn from him (Yashasvi), of course! He’s an India player. He teaches me how to bat, and I like that. He has a great mindset. He says, ‘No matter what happens, never let yourself down.’ So, I think the same way, too.”

Saying that he “has no words to express how proud he is” of his brother today, Tejasvi explained that his stepping away from cricket wasn’t a sacrifice, but a responsibility.

“It’s my responsibility, not a sacrifice. Our family’s financial condition wasn’t good at that time, and he was doing very well. He was genuinely playing very good cricket at that time. We both went to Mumbai to play, but he was scoring a lot of runs, and I felt that he would do well. I could see from his childhood that he would make it big. Watching him perform, I decided to take a backseat. So, that was it,” he said.

Published on Dec 09, 2025