Was Ravindra Jadeja right with his defensive approach at Lord’s? Anil Kumble & Sunil Gavaskar open up

Former Indian cricketers and commentators Anil Kumble and Sunil Gavaskar have shared their views on Ravindra Jadeja’s defensive approach on the fifth and final day of the Lord’s Test, which India lost by 22 runs to trail the series by 1-2.

Notably, there were a lot of questions from the cricketing fraternity on why Jadeja didn’t go for an aggressive approach when he had only Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj at the other end of the crease.

Kumble also joined the queue, questioning Jadeja’s defensive approach against bowlers like Chris Woakes, Joe Root, and Shoaib Bashir, stating that he expected a more positive approach from the all-rounder with the pitch not turning much.

"The two bowlers he could have potentially taken on were Chris Woakes, who is slightly slower in the air, and then Bashir and Joe Root. I know they're off-spinners taking the ball away, but it wasn't turning square. So there wasn't a lot to worry about in terms of spin or the outside edge. Jadeja has played on tougher pitches and against better bowling. I thought he could have taken a chance," Kumble told JioHotstar.

"You want to take those risks. Yes, there were a few runs he rightly declined because Bumrah and Siraj were at the other end, but he could have chanced it a bit more," he added.

On the other hand, Gavaskar defended Jadeja’s approach, asserting that it was a bit tough for Jadeja to do more than what he had done on Day 5. Notably, Jadeja stood unbeaten on 61 off 181 deliveries, scoring only four fours and a six.

"I think it was dictated by the fact that he was batting with the lower-order batters. He was trying to farm the strike as much as possible. Also, at that stage, you're wary of playing aerial shots on that kind of pitch. And the Indian team tends to take the game deep - that's what he was aiming for," Gavaskar told India Today.

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