Veteran spinner Ravindra Jadeja received criticism from former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar for his poor performance in the first Test match against England at Headingley, Leeds. Despite Jadeja taking just one wicket in the second innings, India lost the match by five wickets.
Manjrekar admitted that there was little movement among the Indian seamers. Additionally, he acknowledged that Ben Duckett outperformed elite pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Manjrekar pointed out that the English team was able to take advantage of two frontline bowlers who were having trouble and easily win.
Ironically, India’s seam bowlers were unable to move laterally on the pitch. Nothing came of the pitch, not even Bumrah. And there was nothing in the air. Additionally, Ben Duckett has one of the best records against Bumrah and against Jadeja, and he is fantastic against him,” Manjrekar stated on Star Sports.
He has played Jadeja at home as well, but I don’t believe he has ever gotten out to her.
You are therefore guaranteed to win when you have an English hitter who is excellent against two of your front-line bowlers,” he stated.
Despite giving up runs at an economy rate of more than six, Manjrekar said that rookie pacer Prasidh Krishna shouldn’t be given a harsh evaluation. He did, however, emphasise that Jadeja needed to step up because of his expertise, and he also mentioned that the left-arm spinner did not take full use of the pitch conditions, which provided some help.
“You see, criticising younger guys like Prasidh Krishna is unfair. Since this is a final-day pitch, I will be critical of Jadeja even though there are clear places for improvement. He may play with a rough there. Ultimately, we should expect more from Jadeja, even though I am aware that there were a few opportunities there. These conditions are not common in England. “The pitch doesn’t have nothing to offer here,” Manjrekar said.
He didn’t utilise the rough enough against Ben Stokes, in my opinion. He did, but very late in the innings, against Ben Duckett, he came and began using the rough from seasoned batters and bowlers—you expect more. Additionally, I believe that Jadeja was disappointing since the seamers had nothing to offer them on the pitch. However, Jadeja has something at least,” he said.
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