Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja‘s ability to play spinners after he got out to Australia’s Nathan Lyon on Day 3 of the 4th Test on Saturday. Jadeja was trapped lbw by Lyon on 13, misreading a delivery which didn’t turn at all. During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar admitted that while Jadeja looked more than comfortable against the pacers, his struggles were evident once Lyon was brought into the attack by captain Pat Cummins.
“He played the fast bowlers a lot and played them very well. He didn’t make even a slight mistake against the fast bowlers. However, once Nathan Lyon came, he was expecting off-spin, that the ball would turn. His bat came for the off-spin and the ball was not turning at all. So he played with that mindset,” Manjrekar said.
Manjrekar suggested Jadeja needs to practice a little more against spinners.
“It seems like Jadeja needs to practice a little more against spin because he is looking absolutely comfortable against seam. He used to play very well against spin earlier but it happens that when you play overseas, you start playing fast bowling well and your focus is slightly removed from spin. If only fast bowlers had been there, Jadeja would have played a big knock,” he added.
Manjrekar’s sentiments were echoed by former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta, who explained that Jadeja failed to read Lyon throughout his innings.
“I felt he was playing for turn from the start but Nathan Lyon read the conditions very well, that there wasn’t that much turn there. Nathan Lyon will get two things here – one is bounce and the second is drift. You should see from where he released the ball and where it finished. He released it from wide of the crease, the pitching was just outside the off-stump, and it pitched and came in. From Nathan Lyon’s first ball, when Jadeja was defending, it was hitting the inside edge of the bat. It tells you that Jadeja’s thinking was opposite to what Nathan Lyon was doing, and that is why Nathan Lyon trapped him,” Dasgupta explained.
For the record, Lyon has dismissed seven times out of 16 innings in Test cricket.
