England batting great Sir Alastair Cook has heaped praise on India's young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for his fearless approach during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth. Despite a shaky start, where he registered a duck in the first innings, Jaiswal showcased immense resilience by scoring a brilliant 161 in the second innings, marking his maiden Test century on Australian soil.

Cook, reflecting on Jaiswal's impressive performance, especially highlighted the young southpaw's confidence when facing Australia’s star pacer Mitchell Starc. During his marathon knock, Jaiswal didn’t hesitate to engage in a verbal exchange with Starc, at one point even taunting the speedster by saying, "You are coming too slow at me."

Alastair Cook, who has faced Starc in his own playing days, expressed admiration for Jaiswal’s boldness.

“We’ve seen his celebration enough here, but it’s more enjoyable against Australia than England, certainly. And sledging Mitchell Starc, saying at a certain stage, I think he wasn’t on 100, he wasn’t on anything on a major score, but he’s telling him you’re bowling slow," Cook said on TNT Sports

“And I’ve faced Mitchell Starc and he certainly doesn’t bowl slow. And if he was bowling slow, I’d keep my mouth shut and not wind him up, but have the confidence to do that as a 22-year-old," he added..

Jaiswal’s recent performances have been remarkable.Alastair Cook labelled Jaiswal as a classy player.

“I think he scored the most runs as any Indian player up to after 15 Test matches at the top of the order, which I’ll keep saying it, no one else believes me, it’s the hardest place to bat. What a classy player he is," Cook commented.