India vs England: Ajay Jadeja feels Hardik Pandya not batting at his ideal position in India T20I side

Rishbah Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya had to bat at least one position lower than their usual batting spot in the third T20I which India lost by eight wickets. Ajay Jadeja said India have to decide who their most destructive batsmen are.

Former India batsman Ajay Jadeja feels the current Indian T20 batting line-up is not in the best interest of the team. Jadeja gave example of Hardik Pandya’s batting position to highlight his point about India not using their explosive batters in the correct positions.

Indian captain Virat Kohli celebrates his half century with teammate Hardik Pandya during the third T20 cricket match between India and England, at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Tuesday, March 16, 2021 (PTI)

“I feel India’s current batting lineup isn’t in the best interest of the team. I feel some players are not playing in their ideal positions. For example, I am a big fan of how Hardik Pandya plays his game. When he came out to bat, look at the England bowlers who had overs left. Archer, Wood, and an over or two of someone else,” Jadeja said in a Cricbuzz video.

Pandya, who had made significant contributions while batting at No.6 in the Australia tour, had to bat No.7 as India decided to play an extra batsman in the 2nd and 3rd T20I against England.

Players like Rishbah Pant, Shreyas Iyer and Pandya had to bat at least one position lower than their usual batting spot in the third T20I which India lost by eight wickets.

India vs England live score 4th T20I

“There is no team who have five frontline bowlers. You will always have one bowler who’s slightly weaker than the others. India needs to understand which batsman will give them the maximum returns when they come up against a particular bowler,” said Jadeja during the show.

Jadeja said India have to decide who their most destructive batsmen are and against which oppositions bowlers they can be at their brutal best in T20Is.

“You know the pace at which Hardik Pandya bats when he’s having a good day. You have to think whether you want to up the ante when your batsmen are facing Archer or Wood, or when someone like Jordan or Sam Curran is bowling,” concluded Jadeja.

India are currently 2-1 down in the five-match series and will face England in the fourth match on Thursday to keep the series alive.