'Captain, coach need to tell bowlers we expect wickets from you': Maninder Singh on Ravindra Jadeja's role in India XI

During a discussion on Ravindra Jadeja's role in the team on ESPNCricinfo, former India spinner Maninder Singh said that the left-arm bowler's role should be to take wickets and not just to restrict run flow.

One of the most discussed aspects of India's team selection in England has been the exclusion of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The experienced campaigner was not picked in the first Test at Trent Bridge due to overcast conditions, and pacer Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja played the game in his place. As per reports, Ashwin was set to play the 2nd Test at Lord's, but a last-minute changein to weather conditions saw him being left out once again.

India's Ravindra Jadeja. (AP)

After India stamped out a big win at Lord's by 151 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, it was expected that Ashwin might be included in the playing XI at Headingley. But once again, the off-spinner failed to make it to the XI.

In his place, Ravindra Jadeja was been India's only spin-bowling option, and in five innings so far, he has managed to pick only two wickets.

During a discussion on Jadeja's role in the team on ESPNCricinfo, former India spinner Maninder Singh said that the left-arm bowler's role should be to take wickets and not just to restrict run flow.

But Maninder also added that it is the captain and the coach who need to convey this message to Jadeja and give him the confidence to do so.

"What happens is that sometimes, it's the captain and the coach who give you that confidence. I have seen for the past 20-25 years that Indian spinners feel, and I don't know why whether it's because of the captain or the coach giving them that feeling, that in these conditions, they just need to restrict (the run-flow).

"Whereas I feel Jadeja and Ashwin are good enough to get you wickets on any kinds of track because they are good bowlers and playing international cricket. It's the captain who needs to give you that confidence," Maninder Singh said.

"I remember R Ashwin when he went to Australia for his first tour under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he came back and said in an interview that 'my role was to restrict'. Now, who gave him that feeling? The captain and the coach."

"I think if captain and coach are more positive, they will tell all their bowlers that we expect wickets from you -it does not matter what kind of surface you are bowling on," he added.

"If you are in the Indian team and playing as a bowler, you are supposed to take wickets and not restrict because he is not that big a batsman who is getting you runs in every second innings. You are playing him as an all-rounder who gets you a 40 or a 50, which he did in the first two Test matches, but he is supposed to get wickets as well because he is mainly playing as a bowler who could bat," he signed off.