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Cricket Players'You don't ask Sehwag to defend and Pujara to attack': Ajay Jadeja questions Virat Kohli's tactics in England T20s
Ajay Jadeja said when Virat Kohli stressed playing ‘aggressive cricket’ with a ‘free mind’ with players who have ‘X-factor’, he expected India to probably send Rishabh Pant or Hardik Pandya up the order. But it didn’t happen as India didn’t experiment with their batting line-up much.
Former India batsman Ajay Jadeja expressed his surprise at India’s approach in the first T20I against England in Ahmedabad which they lost by 8 wickets on Friday. Jadeja said there was no new ‘experiment’ as promised by captain Virat Kohli in the pre-match press conference.
"Leave the result aside but what new experiment did you see from India in this match? You know how Shikhar Dhawan plays. KL Rahul too has been around for so long. Sanju Samson was playing in the middle-order and in place of him Rishabh Pant came in so that was the only change. So I couldn’t understand what the experiment was,” Jadeja said in a video interview with Cricbuzz.
India’s decision to rest Rohit Sharma and open with KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan surprised many because Kohli, on the eve of the match, had confirmed Rohit and Rahul as the openers for the first few matches of the series, terming Dhawan as the ‘third opener’.
Jadeja said when Kohli stressed playing ‘aggressive cricket’ with a ‘free mind’ with players who have 'X-factor’, he expected India to probably send Rishabh Pant or Hardik Pandya up the order. But it didn’t happen as India didn’t experiment with their batting line-up much.
“In the pre-match press conference, Virat Kohli clearly says Rohit Sharma will play and we will come with a new aggressive approach. I thought maybe Rishabh Pant will open, then Hardik Pandya and we will see a new aggressive approach,” Jadeja added.
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The former right-hander also questioned India’s usage of resources based on their batting approach.
“If your approach is aggressive then you will use the resource in that way. You won’t ask Cheteshwar Pujara to attack and Virender Sehwag to defend,” he said.
India lost KL Rahul (1) and Virat Kohli (0) in the first three overs of the match as both of them went to play aggressive shots without even trying to get their eyes in, which is not an approach one associates both Rahul and Kohli with.
Jadeja said there is no need for Virat Kohli to go for big hits at the start of innings. He can carry on with his normal style of batting as that has given him a lot of success over the years.
“Why would you change the world’s most successful pattern? Which is Virat Kohli’s. If the team wants to play aggressively then he shouldn’t be the one. Virat Kohli provides solidity to the team. He never was the most powerful striker, yes he can play aggressively but after getting set and there is a pattern. He doesn’t need to change anything. The way he has batted (in 1st T20I) is a worrying factor for me. He should send someone else if he wants quick runs,” Jadeja said.
India will play England in the second T20I on Sunday in Ahmedabad with the hope of turning things around just like the Test series.
