R Ashwin, the former Indian spinner, spoke about a conversation he had with a well-known cricketer about the close loss to England on Sunday under Shubman Gill’s captaincy. India’s top order batsmen found it tough to chase 193. Even though Ravindra Jadeja made a tough half century, the team lost by 22 runs. Ashwin felt Jadeja could have been a bit more aggressive in the chase. But he praised Jadeja for showing that batsmen can be patient in Test cricket.
I was texting a big cricketer during the game. I won’t say who, but we were both talking about the match. We both felt Jadeja maybe should’ve taken a few more chances but not too many. He played well, hats off! Jaddu showed the young boys that you can be patient and win in Test matches, Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin said Jadeja and Siraj should’ve gone after Shoaib Malik instead of just defending. They were waiting for the balls to come but Ashwin felt a slightly more attacking approach would have eased the pressure.
He could have told Siraj to go after Malik in a moment because Siraj can hit the ball well. He can hit a spinner to the leg side, Ashwin explained.
Anil Kumble, the former India captain, shared similar thoughts with Ashwin.
I remember a Test match in Chennai where I lost to Pakistan by 12 runs. Siraj’s dismissal reminded me of that. Just 22 runs short, with Jadeja left alone. He was trying to get India close to the win but England were focused, Kumble who played in that Chennai game said on ‘JioHotstar’.