On the Match Centre Live (JioHotstar) Sanjay Manjrekar said that there were rough areas on the track that Jadeja could have found and that more was surely expected of such an experienced campaigner like him. Sanjay Manjrekar has taken a potshot on Ravindra Jadeja describing him as tactless after India lost the 1st Test in Leeds against England by a margin of 31 runs. Jadeja bowled only one wicket in both the innings and had a conceding figure of 172 runs in 47 overs. But it was the failure of the veteran spinner to work the conditions on Day 5 that pundits picked.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s Statement
“It’s not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna — there are obvious areas for improvement. But I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit. And while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience,” said Manjrekar.
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“These weren’t typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing. I felt he didn’t use the rough nearly enough — especially against Ben Duckett. Against Ben Stokes, yes, he did make an effort. But it was only much later in Duckett’s innings that Jadeja started using the rough properly,” said Manjrekar.
When you’re dealing with experienced bowlers and seasoned batters, you expect a higher level of tactical awareness. Somewhere, I felt Jadeja was disappointing. The seamers had no help from the surface — but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch working in his favour,” said Manjrekar.
