India were sent into bat first in the fourth Test match by England captain Joe Root with overcast conditions overhead. England pacers run through India's top order. Chris Woakes, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson all picked up a wicket each with India 3 down. Just when everyone was expecting to see India's vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane walk out to the crease at that stage, Indian management surprised everyone promoting all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to bat at no. 5.
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| Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (Image credits: India Today) |
Virat Kohli was at the crease at the fall of the third wicket and India seems to have opted for a right-left combination. However, the move has left many shell shocked. Here is what cricket analysts opined about this promotion.
Virender Sehwag:
Former Indian opener, Virender Sehwag, believes that the promotion is just a one-off and do not want this to continue going forward. He also questioned why only Rahane's batting position was altered as Pujara and Kohli are also short of runs this series!
The conditions are favoring swing and troubling the right-handers, so send in Jadeja at No. 5. Maybe it was a step taken to force the England bowlers to alter their line and length against a left-hander. And if the reason is something else then it’s not a good sign for India. It could be just one of the matches when Jadeja was promoted up and sent in to bat ahead of Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane hasn’t scored much in the last games but the same is the case with Kohli and Pujara. Why wasn’t their position altered? So, I think it could be a one-time affair.
Nasser Hussain:
Former England captain Nasser Hussain opined that India wanted a right-left combination at the crease with ball swinging. According to him, it was only a tactical move by the visiting side in this innings.
They must have wanted a left-hander in. Jadeja is a very fine player. He has got 3 triple hundreds in first-class cricket. The balance of the side still looks a little wonky in England. Maybe they didn't want to send Pant. Maybe he has been demoted down the order. Jadeja has batted longer in this series than Pant!
Aakash Chopra:
Shocked was the feeling expressed by commentator Aakash Chopra with Jadeja walking out to bat at no. 5. He was expecting Indian vice-captain Rahane to join Indian captain at the crease in those tough conditions!
You were three down with not many on the board. And in such a situation, Kohli is there at one end and Ravindra Jadeja comes in at No.5. I was in a state of slight shock, I got a mild shock because you were expecting the vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to come.
Sanjay Manjrekar:
The terms were never well between Sanjay Manjrekar and Ravindra Jadeja after the "bits and pieces" comment by the former on the latter. They both are taking a dig at others provided the chance! According to Sanjay, India were only overestimating Jadeja's batting abilities in overseas conditions!
I think the T20 way of thinking has come in. I think they overestimated the ability of Jadeja to play at No. 5. In these conditions, it was a disaster waiting for him. I think Indian cricket is overestimating Jadeja's batting ability in overseas conditions. In India, send him at No. 5, there is going to be no problem. In these conditions, we saw while he was out there when the ball was swinging, he didn't look comfortable
Shardul Thakur:
This is what is someone from the inside of the Indian camp said. Shardul Thakur batted brilliantly scoring a half-century on Day 1 and this is what he said at the presser at the stumps on Day 1. He confirmed that the change was made only to have a left-right combination going at the crease.
I think everyone was thinking about it since a long time and whether Rishabh goes or Jadeja goes, it doesn't really matter because both of them are match-winners. We have seen that on a number of occasions Jadeja has scored crucial runs and coming to England, if you saw his batting in the first Test and also at Lord's in the first innings, he's been trying to stay on the pitch, he's batting patiently and just to use that left-right combination we sent him up the order.
Jadeja scored just 10 runs facing 34 deliveries. India were bowled out for just 191 in the first innings and couldn't bat the whole day for the second time in this series! Even though the experiment of Jadeja's promotion failed, comment below if you would like to see Ravindra Jadeja batting at no. 5 in the going further.
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