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Ravindra Jadeja was India’s lone spin bowling option in the first Test against England, but he failed to impress with his bowling and was only able to take one wicket.
Ravindra Jadeja failed to impress with his bowling performance in 1st Test against England. (Picture Credit: AP)
Ravindra Jadeja, who is the world’s No. 1 Test all-rounder, failed to impress with his performance with the bat as well as with the ball in the first Test against England, which was played from June 20 to 24 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The 36-year-old cricketer from Saurashtra failed to take any wickets in the first innings of the match, which India lost by five wickets despite posting a target of 371 runs.
Former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin was not pleased with Jadeja’s performance in the series opener, and he has suggested Indian team management to consider dropping him and instead play Kuldeep Yadav.
According to Haddin, Kuldeep is an attacking spinner who can get wickets.
“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. 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 said on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.
“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 added.
Kuldeep, who made his Test debut for India in March 2017 against Australia, last played a red-ball match for India in October 2024 against New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. He missed the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to injury-related issues.
Apart from Haddin, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and former Test captain Michael Clarke have also batted for Kuldeep’s inclusion in India’s playing XI for the second Test in Birmingham starting July 2.
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