Sanjay Manjrekar Criticises Ravindra Jadeja After India's Loss To England: "Didn't Use The..."
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has come out in support of India's seamers following team's five-wicket defeat to England in the first Test at Leeds but did not hold back when it came to assessing Ravindra Jadeja's performance. While India's pacers toiled without much assistance from the surface, Manjrekar felt Jadeja missed a real opportunity to make a bigger impact, especially on the Day 5 pitch that could have offered help through the rough. "It's not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna -- there are obvious areas for improvement," Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said on the show 'Match Centre Live' in JioHotstar.
"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," he added.
Jadeja, India's lead spinner in the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin, struggled to create pressure through long spells and failed to extract consistent turn despite visible rough outside the left-hander's off stump. He ended the match with just one wicket, that of England captain Ben Stokes, finishing with figures of 1/104 in 24 overs in the second innings. He remained wicketless in the first innings.
"These weren't typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing," Manjrekar continued.
"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. When you're dealing with experienced bowlers and seasoned batters, you expect a higher level of tactical awareness. Somewhere, I felt Jadeja was disappointing," he said.
"The seamers had no help from the surface -- but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch working in his favour," he added.
The left-arm spinner did produce a few quality deliveries.
The final day saw England produce a successful run chase. Led by Ben Duckett's impressive 149 and key contributions from Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Jamie Smith, the hosts reached the target in 82 overs, finishing at 373/5 to clinch a five-wicket win.
India now trail 0-1 in the five-match Test series. With the series wide open and the next Test offering a different surface and conditions, the spotlight will remain on Jadeja to lift his game.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
28 minutes ago
- First Post
Rahul praised for commitment after reaching England early despite recently becoming a father: 'He could've easily said...'
KL Rahul, who had welcomed a daughter with wife Athiya on 24 March, had featured in the second unofficial Test between India A and England Lions that took place just two weeks after Delhi Capitals' final game of the 2025 Indian Premier League. read more KL Rahul had scored a superb 137 in the second innings of the first Test between India and England at Headingley, though the knock ultimately went in vain. AP Former India cricketer Hemang Badani heaped praise on senior batter KL Rahul for his commitment, especially for showing up in the tour of England earlier than many of his teammates and playing a practice game despite recently becoming a father . Rahul, who is the senior-most member of the Test team following Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirements from the format last month, had landed in England before a majority of the Shubman Gill-led squad after playing his maiden season with Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And just two weeks after DC, who had failed to reach the playoffs, played their final game of the season, Rahul featured in India A's second unofficial Test against England Lions in Northampton, where the wicketkeeper-batter scored a fluent 116 followed by 51. Rahul and wife Athiya Shetty had welcomed a baby daughter on 24 March. The star cricketer's paternity leave, however, was limited to DC's first game of the season, against Lucknow Super Giants in Visakhapatnam which took place on the same day he became a father. Rahul rejoined the Capitals in time for their second game, against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the same venue less than a week later, and would remain caught up with the gruelling tournament for the next two months. Badani salutes Rahul's intent 'I really liked the fact that he was someone who said, 'I want to go to England early. I want to play the side game.' Forget about the hundred he got — that came later. The intent — that's what matters. The intent to be there early, to be prepared, to be with the side,' Delhi Capitals coach Badani told The Times of India. 'Let's not forget, he's a young father, and I don't think his child is traveling with him initially. So for him to say, 'Country over my child' — that's a huge call. 'He could've easily said, 'I'm not playing the side game anyway, I'll just go straight to the Test match.' But he didn't,' he added. The batting practice that he got in the tour game came in handy in the series opener against England at Headingley, where Rahul scored a flamboyant 137 in the second innings in addition to 42 in the first. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 33-year-old stood tall at a time when opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Shubman Gill, centurions in the first innings, were dismissed cheaply and his presence also helped designated wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant recover from a shaky start and go on to score a second consecutive century.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Jofra Archer returns: What are his numbers against India and at home in Tests?
Jofra Archer has officially been named in England's squad for the second Test against India to be held at Edgbaston on July 2. The Ben Stokes-led side will be in a predicament over whether they should consider the pacer to start in the upcoming fixture, considering he has just come out of a rough patch due to pacer makes his return to the Test team, and if picked to start, will play his first Test since February 2021 when he played against India at question still lingers whether the hosts should consider his inclusion. Former cricketers like Michael Vaughan have suggested against it and wanted him to show he can handle the demands of the longest format by having more domestic games under his belt. He made his return to Sussex to play County cricket for the first time in four years earlier this week. He took part in the recently concluded match against Durham which ended in a draw. He had bowled in the first innings where he had 18 overs under his belt which had 18 maidens and gave away just 32 runs while taking one remains a big what-if whether his body can handle a similar workload across both innings. But England could consider his inclusion as he is one that can swing the ball both ways, can bowl in the high 140s and can be a genuine threat with the short balls as us now have a look at what the numbers suggest:JOFRA ARCHER'S TEST RECORD IN ENGLANDThe pacer has taken part in eight Test matches on home soil where he has taken 30 wickets at an average of 26.86 and an economy of 2.86 runs per over. Even if Archer does not seem to be the one taking the wickets, the economical bowling can be a big asset in the longest format. In fact, this was even missing in the Indian bowling attack which resulted in their defeat at ARCHER'S RECORD AGAINST INDIAThe fast-bowler has taken part in two matches against India, both being away from home. It is fair to say he did not have much luck there, considering he had four wickets across both games and ended up conceding a total of 122 runs in the 35 overs bowled. But his luck could be better considering the English conditions were more suited for the faster thing to consider is his ability to contribute some quick runs with the bat. While he may not be the ideal lower-order batter to have, he certainly has the power to clear the boundary ropes at will, as seen in various instances across international and franchise one of the biggest drawbacks to his inclusion for the second Test will be whether Ben Stokes will be caught up in trying to manage his workload and his own. This could prove to be detrimental to the side, and it would be ideal if the management were given the go-ahead to use him freely. However, that is never the case when it comes to fast bowlers, considering how demanding it can be physically. Nonetheless, it will be a big call taken, and the management will hope that the pacer can find his rhythm and maintain his fitness for an extended period.- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG: Former India bowler slams Ravindra Jadeja - 'He bowled either too short or too fast, too full'
Ravindra Jadeja of India (Photo by) Former India fast bowler Varun Aaron has taken a sharp dig at Ravindra Jadeja 's performance on the final day of the first Test against England at Headingley. Jadeja, India's senior left-arm spinner, came under scrutiny for his lack of precision, as England chased down a tricky target to win the match by five wickets and go 1-0 up in the series. Speaking on Star Sports' Follow the Blues, Aaron said Jadeja failed to make the most of the rough patches on the fifth-day surface. 'More than the reverse sweeps, if we go back and view that footage when Jadeja was bowling over the wicket, I would say he missed the rough a lot. He bowled either too short or he was bowling too fast, too full. They were all pitching in the middle of the wicket, not on the rough,' Aaron pointed out, referring to Jadeja's inability to find consistent areas to trouble the batters. Poll What did you think about Ravindra Jadeja's performance in the first Test against England? He performed well He struggled significantly He was average His performance was disappointing Jadeja's final figures of 1 for 104 in 24 overs reflected the lack of control and effectiveness that India needed during England's run chase. Ben Duckett , in particular, found it easy to reverse sweep and disrupt Jadeja's rhythm, as England executed their aggressive approach with confidence. Aaron further criticised Jadeja's failure to rise to the occasion, especially given his vast experience. 'Somebody who is really experienced, who bowls into the rough really well, especially in Indian conditions where there is a lot of rough, and he and (Ravichandran) Ashwin have stitched together so many match-winning performances, you would back him to bowl into the rough on the fifth day and secure India a very historic victory,' he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trending in in 2025: Local network access control [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo Leeds to Birmingham: On the road with TOI Sports The criticism comes as a wake-up call for India's bowling unit, which struggled to adapt to England's counter-attacking style. While Jadeja has often delivered in clutch situations, his underwhelming outing at Leeds has sparked debate about India's bowling strategies, especially in overseas conditions. IND vs ENG Series Schedule: 1st Test: England v India, 20-24 June 2025, Headingley, Leeds – England won by 5 wickets 2nd Test: England v India, 2-6 July 2025, Edgbaston, Birmingham 3rd Test: England v India, 10-14 July 2025, Lord's, London 4th Test: England v India, 23-27 July 2025, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester 5th Test: England v India, 31 July-4 August 2025, Kia Oval, London Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
