IND vs WI | India are feeling the absence of Ravindra Jadeja at No.7, says Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar has stated that Team India are feeling the absence of Ravindra Jadeja at No.7 in the batting line-up. Gavaskar further added that he was surprised to see Rishabh Pant up the order in the second ODI against West Indies, and asserted that the left-hander should be the finisher.
India registered a resounding 44-run victory against West Indies in the second ODI, and with the win, the Rohit Sharma-led side also sealed the series victory by taking an unassailable lead of 2-0. After being asked to bat first, India suffered early blows in the batting innings as they lost the wickets of Rohit Sharma,  Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli before the 12th over.Â
KL Rahul (49) and Suryakumar Yadav (64) partnered for a 90-run stand to help India from further collapse, but the Men in Blue lost wickets at regular intervals, and were restricted to 237/9 in the allotted 50 overs. India lacked the service of a good finisher down the order, and Rishabh Pant opening along with Rohit Sharma made things even worse for the hosts during the final overs as they failed to finish the innings well.Â
Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar stated that he was surprised to see Pant up the order instead of playing the finisher role for Team India. The former Indian cricketer further added that India are missing the services of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at No.7, 8.
“To be honest with you, I was surprised to see Rishabh Pant up the order because I have always felt that he is probably better off at 6 or 7, depending on how the team has gone. He should be the finisher. My feeling is that Rahul will partner Rohit as the opener, and Surya would probably bat at No. 4,” Gavaskar said mid-innings of the second ODI.
“Then maybe at 5, you will have somebody like a Rishabh Pant and then a Washington Sundar. Don’t forget, India are feeling the absence of Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, 8. He was scoring so many runs and hitting the big shots. Brilliant fielder and picking up wickets in the middle order. He is being missed greatly by this Indian team,” he added.
Gavaskar further analysed the mix-up between KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, which resulted in the former's dismissal.
“You could perhaps sense that Rahul was looking at the fielder, and when he started that second run and looked, he thought that Surya was not coming back for the second. Surya had taken that first run pretty casually. He hadn’t rushed for it. And when Rahul was half way down, Surya had barely left the batting crease to come back for the second. That is where that caused a little bit of confusion in Rahul’s mind,” said Gavaskar.