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After going down by five wickets in the opening Test of the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on Tuesday, June 24, the Indian team will hope to get back with the positives to level the series in the second Test, set to be played from July 2 to 6 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Speaking of the Headingley Test, despite scoring 835 runs across the two innings and five centuries, India struggled on the field as Jasprit Bumrah stood as a lone warrior.
However, the team will hope to get back as a unit and field their best XI. Amidst this, there are a lot of raised eyebrows on Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who being the lone spinner in the lineup in the opening Test, picked only one wicket. Seeing his dismal performance with the bat as well as the ball, former Australia wicketkeeper-batter, Brad Haddin didn’t shy away from sharing his opinions.
I don’t think he is the best option to have: Brad Haddin’s blunt take on Jadeja
Seeing Jadeja’s poor run of form, the former Aussie cricketer asked for his omission from the next match. Speaking in the latest episode of LiSTNR Sport Podcast, Haddin shared his concern over Jadeja’s form while adding that Kuldeep Yadav should be given a chance. “Are we seeing the decline of Ravindra Jadeja? I mean yes, he is effective in Indian conditions and knows how hard it is to play left-arm spin in India, but I don’t think he is the best option to have in the team spin-wise,” he began.
“I would look at Kuldeep. Someone who is an attacking spinner, who can get wickets. You’ve got a couple of hold-in bowlers. Siraj can play that role, but I think they need to be a bit more bold in their selection of bowlers,” Haddin added. The 47-year-old was also of the opinion that if India plays Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jadeja should be dropped.
“If (Nitish Kumar) Reddy plays, then you don’t have to play Jadeja and bring the attacking spin option. I think that’s one thing they’ve got to look at, especially away from home. I don’t think Jadeja can be effective. Yes, he is a good all-rounder, and he could play as a second spinner—hold at the other end. But I think they need to be more attacking, be willing to lose a Test match with some inexperienced bowlers, but change their mindset in the way they go about it,” he further added.
India’s squad for five-match Test series against England
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
