Gautam Gambhir thinks Ravindra Jadeja’s knock in the first Test against Sri Lanka is not the all-rounder’s maximum effort with the bat.
Jadeja smashed an unbeaten 175 in India’s first innings of the Mohali Test to support the host’s announcement at a huge score of 574/8. However, He then scalped 9-wickets in a match as Team India exterminated the Lankans by an innings and 222 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja (175* and 9 wkts) just missed becoming the first player in Test cricket history to make a score of 150+ in an innings and also claim a 10 wicket haul in the same Test match. #IndvSL #IndvsSL
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 6, 2022
During a conversation on Star Sports, Gautam Gambir was asked if Jadeja’s first-innings struggle was the standout innings of his Test career. He replied:
“I don’t think so. I feel the innings Ravindra Jadeja played in Australia or the knocks he has played outside India; he will get more confidence from that. Stats can be very misleading.”
The former India cricketer added that Jadeja was served runs almost on a platter during the latter stages of his innings. Gambhir elaborated:
“There was a time after the century where he was just milking – Dhananjaya de Silva, Asalanka, and Embuldeniya were bowling, but if you talk about Australia or England, the 40 or 50-run contributions there are probably much more important than this innings.”
The former India cricketer also said that Jadeja was served runs almost on a platter during the latter phase of his innings. Gambhir explained:
“These 175 runs are the by-product of how Ravindra Jadeja has batted in abroad conditions” – Gautam Gambhir added.
Gambhir observed that Jadeja’s knock in the Mohali Test resulted from the hard yards he has put in, mainly in overseas conditions. He described:
“These 175 runs are the by-product of how Ravindra Jadeja has batted in overseas conditions. You only see the end result but the lead up to these 175 runs; there has been a lot of effort put in that, he scored runs in very difficult circumstances and conditions, and that is why he got a chance at No. 6 or No. 7.”
Gautam Gambhir concluded by saying that the admire of Ravichandran Ashwin might have been batting ahead of Jadeja if the latter had not exhibited his credentials in abroad conditions.
“If he had probably not scored runs in those conditions, the team management might have had the temptation to play someone else, probably Ashwin at No. 7. When you come after scoring runs in such difficult conditions, you get opportunities to improve your stats or your Test record.”
Ravi Ashwin said, "Ravindra Jadeja has really come a long way in the last 4-5 years. His position is a little low for the way he is batting at the moment. His batting has gone one notch higher".
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 6, 2022
Also read- Aakash Chopra state Ravindra Jadeja is the best all-rounder player in Test cricket at the moment.