Ravichandran Ashwin, a former cricket player from India, defended Yashasvi Jaiswal, arguing that he shouldn’t have been kicked off the slip cordon. In the first Test match against England at Headingley, the young player notably struggled in the field, missing four opportunities.
In order to maintain Jaiswal’s confidence, Ashwin also believed that the senior members of the team might have shown greater leadership by sticking with him in the slips.
“Jaiswal was taken off the slip cordon, though we’re not clear if he requested it. They avoided him. He’s obviously picked a lot of catches in the slips, and what may happen to your confidence if a drop takes you out? In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Ashwin stated, “I think leadership is demonstrated when you can assume responsibility for someone who is feeling down.”
While acknowledging that he has experienced similar things during his cricket career, Ashwin expressed sympathy for Jaiswal.
“Suppose a fielder misses a catch and you are the captain. You know he constantly practices and works hard, but if he still fails to make a catch, it was a bad day for him. A person should not lose confidence. I can question him, “Is everything okay?” and so on, but many people change their fielding position in the middle. It totally deflates a player’s confidence. “I’ve experienced the same thing,” Ashwin continued.
Ben Duckett’s deep backward square-leg opportunity, when he was three runs shy of his tonne during England’s pursuit of 371 runs, was Jaiswal’s fourth. Due to his knocks in both innings, Duckett ultimately scored 149 before being removed, earning him the Player of the Match award. He scored 62 in the first innings but was also given two lives (on 11 and 15).
The second Test of the series between India and England will begin on July 2 at Edgbaston. As they strive for drawing level, the Shubman Gill-led team will want to make sure there are no mistakes made on the pitch.
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