Former England skipper Alastair Cook feels that Ravindra Jadeja should move down the batting order so that wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel can come ahead of him. Jadeja played a crucial role in India’s 3-1 series victory over England, despite one Test still left to play. However, his discomfort at batting early in the order was very much visible in the matches he played, especially in the fourth Test. The all-rounder had put up scores of 12 and 4 in the Ranchi Test after he was sent before Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel to bat in the game.
Cook told TNT Sports “Jadeja, in particular, showed probably why he should be batting a little lower…Jadeja was just dead-batting everything, there’s no chance of getting any runs whatsoever.”
Alastair Cook is a major fan of the all-rounder but feels that he has to make space for youngsters to come before him. While talking to the channel, Cook acknowledged that Jadeja could indeed score runs but he wasn’t as effective in handling pressure. “Yes he can score runs but the ability under pressure – pressure does funny things to you,” Cook said. He went on to add, “Jadeja is a world-class all-rounder, but batting at five there he struggled in terms of taking no risks because he didn’t want to get out or trying to put a bit of pressure back on as a batter.”
According to Alastair Cook, Dhruv Jurel is ideal in high-pressure situations and has proved himself in Ranchi. He said, “Jurel found that balance perfectly with his foot movement and sharpness of the mind…even when Jurel is defending he’s so sharp when he’s ticking the ball on leg-side, if it’s perfect he may get a run.” He concluded by stating, “I’m not calling Jadeja a bad player at all, he [Jurel] might have slightly better ball manoeuvering than Jadeja.”
Ravindra Jadeja recovered from his hamstring injury to make a return in the third Test against England. Batting at five, he scored 112 runs for India in the first innings. However, the cricketer was unable to carry forward his form into the fourth Test. It was Druv Jurel who stepped up for India at the hour of need, smashing 90 runs in the first innings before adding another 39 unbeaten in the second. His performances also earned him the Player of the Match award for the Ranchi Test.
Having won the series already, India will now be looking to finish on a winning note as they take on England again at Dharamshala. It remains to be seen if Dhruv Jurel will be sent up the batting order or if Ravindra Jadeja will still come at number five in that match.
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