Varun Aaron observed that the left-arm spinner frequently bowled too short or too full and fast, failing to consistently hit the rough. On Day 5 of the first Test match against England at Headingley, Leeds, Ravindra Jadeja’s weak bowling was critiqued by former Indian cricketer Varun Aaron.
The former pacer also noted that during England’s successful chase, Ben Duckett was able to easily perform reverse sweeps because Jadeja routinely pitched the ball in the middle of the wicket. In England’s second innings, Jadeja completed with figures of 1 for 104 from 24 overs, helping the hosts win by five wickets and take a 1-0 series lead.
“If we watch the video again while Jadeja was bowling over the wicket, I would say he missed the rough a lot more than the reverse sweeps. He was either bowling too fast or too full, or he was bowling too short. Aaron stated on the Star Sports program “Follow the Blues” that all of them were pitching in the middle of the wicket rather than on the rough.
“As an experienced bowler, Jadeja was expected to take advantage of the final-day surface more effectively and lead India to victory,” Varun Aaron said.
“Somebody who is really experienced, who bowls into the rough really well, especially in Indian conditions where there is a lot of rough, and he and (Ravichandran) Ashwin have stitched together so many match-winning performances, you would back him to bowl into the rough on the fifth day and secure India a very historic victory,” Varun Aaron stated.
Joe Root will cause India a lot of problems: Varun Aaron
Joe Root, England’s top-order batsman, may be a serious threat to India for the rest of the series, according to the cricketer-turned-commentator. He clarified that Root’s strategy of putting the ball outside the off-stump makes it more difficult for Indian bowlers to strike his stumps and drastically lowers the likelihood of an LBW dismissal.
“With regard to Joe Root, India is in serious trouble. His style of play involves a lot of shuffling outside the off-stump, which gives him a solid position from which to play anything that comes his way. Since he is outside the off-stump, he is almost eliminating Lbw from the scene,” Aaron remarked.
Aaron went on to say that because Root regularly plays the ball under his eyes, he is well-positioned to handle deliveries outside off-stump. He pointed out that bowlers would have to do something really unique to get rid of a hitter of Root’s skill level.
“As a quick bowler, he cannot be lbw because he will be hit beyond the line. Secondly, he is in a position where he can play anything that is outside the off-stump, and he is meeting everything under his eye line. In order to get him out, a bowler must do something truly unique, which only Bumrah can do,” Aaron said.
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