“I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja” - Sanjay Manjrekar slams Indian all-rounder after Leeds Test defeat

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has slammed the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for not using his experience properly in bowling on the rough patches to disturb the English batting line-up on Day 5 of the Leeds Test.

Notably, India went on to suffer a five-wicket loss against England in the opening Test after setting a target of 371 runs in the fourth innings. Jadeja conceded 172 runs in 47 overs, scalping only one wicket in both innings combined. 

Manjrekar asserted that despite the surface offering rough patches, someone like Jadeja, who is an experienced spinner, couldn’t use them. Interestingly, he added that the conditions on Day 5 weren’t like the usual ones in England, but Jadeja couldn’t create a significant impact.

“It’s not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna — there are obvious areas for improvement. But I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit. And while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience," Manjrekar said on ‘Match Centre Live’ on JioHotstar.

"These weren’t typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing. I felt he didn’t use the rough nearly enough, especially against Ben Duckett. Against Ben Stokes, yes, he did make an effort. But it was only much later in Duckett’s innings that Jadeja started using the rough properly," he added.

With seamers not finding much help from the fifth day Leeds surface, Manjrekar expected someone like Jadeja to have a higher level of tactical awareness, which he completely lacked during the opening Test.

“When you’re dealing with experienced bowlers and seasoned batters, you expect a higher level of tactical awareness. Somewhere, I felt Jadeja was disappointing. The seamers had no help from the surface — but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch working in his favour,” he concluded.

India will take on England in the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham from Wednesday, July 2.

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