Yashasvi Jaiswal, the young India opener who scored a century on debut against the West Indies, said that the “Player of the Match” award was “just the start” of many more future success stories. Jaiswal, 21, showed in the first Test that he belongs to the highest level, with the southpaw scoring 171 runs and sharing a 229-run partnership with skipper Rohit Sharma.

Jaiswal became only the third Indian to score 150 on debut, and his big break came after sensational performances in IPL and domestic cricket. In a video posted on social media, Jaiswal said that the journey to this point had been “long and arduous”.

ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma Explains The Reason Behind The Gesture To Urge Ishan to Accelerate

“It felt very nice getting the Player-of-the-Match award on debut,” Yashasvi Jaiswal said. “It’s been a long journey, feeling very happy and good about it. Let’s see what the future holds for me, this is just the start (of my international career). Pray to God that I continue playing like this, keep making (such) efforts and keep contributing for the team.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal also thanked chief coach Rahul Dravid for his advice.

“We prepared pretty well,” Yashasvi Jaiswal said. “Spoke a lot to Rahul Dravid sir and learned from him. Would like to thank all the selectors and Rohit (Sharma) sir for having faith in me. It’s really nice, I have been working on this. Playing Test cricket for India is very special and emotional. This is just the start, I need to keep my focus and keep working on my cricket. Lots of people helped me through my journey and I want to thank each and every one of them.”

ALSO READ: India-South Africa Tour Schedule Unveiled: A Cricketing Extravaganza Awaits

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance has given India a bright young prospect at the top of the order, and he will be hoping to build on his success in the upcoming Tests against England.