During the course of high profile IPL, it is seldom that a news pertaining to domestic cricket catches the headline. 

But India's hotshot opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's surprise announcement that he would turn out for Goa in the 2025-2026 domestic season.

The young swashbuckling cricketer had hitherto played for Mumbai, a team that had given him the lifeline to emerge out of obscurity. Jaiswal had arrived from Uttar Pradesh as a gawky 12-year-old in Mumbai in pursuit of cricketing greatness. His story of travails before he got his breaks are now stuff of modern-day legends. He reportedly spent nights in platform and makeshift tents before coach Jwala Singh spotted him and helped nurture his game further.

With Mumbai, Jaiswal's connection was more than sporting one. It was an emotionally personal one. So why is he moving to the unheralded Goa. Well, Goa may be having leadership ambitions, which may have been hard to come by in the Mumbai setup.

The Indian Express has quoted the 23-year-old Jaiswal as saying that Goa has offered him a leadership role. "My first goal will be to do well for India and whenever I’m not on national duty, I will be playing for Goa and try to make them go deep into the tournament. This was an (important) opportunity which came my way and I just took it," he said.

Goa had only recently qualified for the knockout stage in Ranji. Jaiswal is not the first one from Mumbai to throw his lot behind Goa. Earlier, Siddesh Lad and Arjun Tendulkar also played for Goa.

Meanwhile, some reports have claimed that another Mumbai star Surykumar Yadav may also break ranks and play for Goa. But the star batter has scotched the rumours as saying that he would continue playing for his home State.