Ravindra Jadeja my favourite player and want to play cricket like him, claims Ashton Agar
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After picking the first hat-trick of his career, Ashton Agar has stated that he idolizes Ravindra Jadeja for the all-rounder that he is and wants to play cricket like the Indian does. Agar has also added that talking to Jadeja after the ODI series against India was very inspiring for him.
It was Ashton delight for Australia last night in Johannesburg, with the Western Australian all-rounder picking up a fifer after smacking a nine-ball 20 earlier in the evening. Agar, who was in top form in the home T20I series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, took his game to another level, with his drift being too heavy to understand for the South Africans, who were bowled out for their lowest-ever T20I score.
However, it was not always like this. In the last India trip, Agar picked only two wickets in three ODIs while conceding 5.60 runs per over to follow his disastrous 2017 tour to India where he was at the receiving end of some Hardik Pandya onslaught. But a discussion with Jadeja during his trip helped him find the balance, which Agar thinks is fundamental to his progress.
"I had a wonderful chat with Ravindra Jadeja after the India series. He's my favourite player in the world - I want to play cricket like he does. He's an absolute rockstar: smacks them, gun fielder, and spins the ball. But it's just his presence when he's out there, watching his confidence… just talking to him about spin bowling, keep trying to spin the ball. When he's batting he has a really positive attitude, and he takes that attitude into the field as well," Agar was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
While Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins have been able to forge a strong partnership up front, Australia have been placed quite comfortably in the middle overs, with Agar and Adam Zampa teaming up. Agar feels his camaraderie with the leg-spinner and "good understanding of each other's games" keep them in good stead.
"It's developed massively. We've always got along really well, we're pretty no-fuss, away from the field we have similar interests, and we just get along well. So then going out into the middle, we both really enjoy talking about the game, speaking about spin bowling. I think we have a really good understanding of each other's games. What we did well in Australia in the last T20I series [against Pakistan], we identified that if someone is getting wickets early, it's their day to attack and the other one defends. It's good to string a few games together with him," the Western Australian spinner added.
Both teams will play their second game of the series at the St George's Park in Port Elizabeth.
