ENG vs IND | Jadeja good enough to pick wickets and shouldn't just focus on restricting runs, says Maninder Singh
Former India spinner Maninder Singh has asserted that Ravindra Jadeja should focus on taking more wickets, rather than just trying to restrict the flow of runs. He also emphasized how it's the responsibility of the coach and the captain to provide confidence to the spinners to take wickets.
In the first three Tests of the ongoing Test series against England, India have gone with a 4-1 pace-spin combination and that has resulted in the exclusion of ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI. While Ravindra Jadeja has promised with the bat, his bowling hasn't been as effective, with the left-armer picking two wickets in five innings at 93.
Former India left-arm spinner Maninder Singh has asserted that Jadeja is good enough to take wickets and shouldn't just focus on restricting the run-flow. He also added that the captain and coach must constantly back the spinners and provide them ample confidence, which will help them bag more wickets.
“What happens is that sometimes, it’s the captain and the coach who give you that confidence. I have seen for the past 20-25 years that Indian spinners feel, and I don’t know why whether it’s because of the captain or the coach giving them that feeling, that in these conditions, they just need to restrict (the run-flow),” Maninder Singh told ESPNcricinfo.
“Whereas I feel Jadeja and Ashwin are good enough to get you wickets on any kind of track because they are good bowlers and playing international cricket. It’s the captain who needs to give you that confidence.”
Maninder then went on to recall an old interview of India's premier spinner Ashwin, when he had toured Down Under with MS Dhoni captaining the side. The off-spinner had revealed then, how he was tasked with playing the defensive role as a bowler in the entire series.
“I remember R Ashwin when he went to Australia for his first tour under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he came back and said in an interview that ‘my role was to restrict’. Now, who gave him that feeling? The captain and the coach,” the 56-year-old remarked.
“I think if captain and coach are more positive, they will tell all their bowlers that we expect wickets from you -it does not matter what kind of surface you are bowling on.”