Former Australian batter Mat t hew Hayden’s comment put ex-Indian coach Ravi Shastri in a dilemma during the first Test match between India and Australia. Hayden was praising Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja by calling him a ‘three-dimensional cricketer’ before he was warned by Dinesh Karthik, who called the comment a “sensitive topic”.
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Soon the pair turned to Shastri for a response when the 1983 World Cup winner was under the pump. The term ‘three-dimensional cricketer’ was a centre of controversy when former Indian selector MSK Prasad it to justify the selection of Vijay Shankar over in-form batter Ambati Raydu for the 2019 50-over World Cup.
As Hayden called Jadeja a “three-dimensional cricketer”, Karthik immediately responded to the statement by saying, “Three-dimensional cricketers are a very sensitive topic in this part of the world, I must say.”
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The former Aussie opener then asked, “Come on now, don't keep the suspense any longer,” before Karthik replied, “Maybe Ravi bhai can enlighten you on that,” as he burst into laughter. “I don't think I have ever witnessed Ravi Shastri backing down from a challenge. What is it big fella?” Hayden continued.
Addressing these responses, Shastri had a rather simple reaction as he said, “Nice when a player was picked some time ago and one of the selectors mentioned that he was a three-dimensional cricketer. I'm still trying to figure out what that means,” Shastri said. Concluding this discussion, Matthew Hayden laughed and clarified that he was just complimenting Jadeja for his batting, bowling, and fielding ability.
Talking about Ravindra Jadeja, the Gujarat-born all-rounder marked an incredible return to Test cricket against Australia. In the first innings, Jadeja picked up a five-wicket haul. Then with the bat, he scored an important half-century as he stitched a big partnership with Rohit Sharma.
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