From being homeless and selling snacks on the streets to finance his cricketing ambitions, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has now become the toast of India with a Test double century against England.
The 22-year-old turned an overnight 179 into his first double ton with 209 on Saturday in the second match of the high-profile series.
Jaiswal, an attacking left-hand batsman, burst into the consciousness of his cricket-mad country with a stellar showing in the Indian Premier League.
He was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals in the 2019 IPL auction and last season made one half of a fearsome opening pair with England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler, amassing 625 runs with a strike-rate of more than 163.
His 171 on his Test debut against the West Indies last year turned heads with a gruelling 387 deliveries in Dominica over more than eight hours at the crease.
His latest knock has left the cricketing world in awe of the youngster.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen called Jaiswal “a superstar” on commentary.
“You beauty, your bat has become a magic wand,” India opener Shikhar Dhawan wrote on social media platform X. “Rewriting cricket history, one milestone at a time!” he added.
Commentator Aakash Chopra said Friday that Jaiswal's stats on converting fifties into hundreds had for the time being put him “even above Sir Don Bradman”.
Jaiswal struck his 11th first-class ton over 21 matches to single-handedly drive the innings for India, where the next best knock was 34.
He had always harboured ambitions to play for India and moved to the financial capital Mumbai to chase his dream at just 11 years old, and without his parents.
“I used to sleep in a dairy and then stayed at my uncle's place but it wasn't big enough and he asked me to find a different place,” Jaiswal told AFP in an interview in 2020.
The left-handed opener rushed to his double hundred, reaching the milestone off 277 balls, and celebrated in style in front of a large Saturday morning crowd.
“I then started to stay in a tent near Azad Maidan” – a field considered the birthplace of cricket in India – “and would play cricket there during the day”.
In between he sold popular street snacks to make enough money to pay for his own meals, supplementing a side hustle in cricket scoring and ball fetching in club games.
Jaiswal also did some cricket scoring and fetched balls in club games to help finance his career before being noticed by coach Jwala Singh, who became the boy's legal guardian.
"I saw in Yashasvi a younger me and thought God is giving me another chance to play well in my second innings of life," said Singh, who played state-level cricket, told AFP.
Jaiswal eventually won a place in the Mumbai state team in 2019 and became the youngest batsman, at 17 years and 292 days, to score a domestic one-day double century.
His stunning knock against England came from 290 deliveries, with 19 fours and seven sixes in an innings that spanned across four sessions as the young opener almost single-handedly kept India's innings together.
It was the third fastest double hundred in Tests against England, after West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge (232 balls) in 1984 and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (254 balls) in 1998.
He becomes the third youngest player – at 22 years 37 days – to hit a double ton for India after Sunil Gavaskar – 21 years 277 days against West Indies in 1971 – and Vinod Kambli – 21 years 32 days against England in 1993.
“I wanted to play it session by session. When they were bowling well, I just wanted to get through that spell,” Jaiswal, playing his sixth Test, said after the end of Day 1 in Visakhapatnam.
“Initially, the wicket was damp and there was spin and bounce, with a bit of seam. However, I wanted to convert the loose balls, and play till the end. I would love to double this up, and play till the end for the team.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SupplyVan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2029%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MRO%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
