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Cricket Players'If there is a chance to play them both, they should': Pragyan Ojha picks India's first-choice spinners for England tour
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha believes the two players have enough experience to win India games on any track and should be played together against England.
India will begin their England Tour with the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton in June. They will then lock horns with England in a five-match Test series. BCCI announced a 20-member squad, plus four standby players, for the UK summer and they have not included a single fast-bowling all-rounder in the side. This means that the onus will be on team India's frontline spin-bowling all-rounders to take charge.
Keeping the facts in mind, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha believes R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja should be played together to bolster the side's chances of winning.
Speaking to Sports Today, Ojha said both the players have enough experience to excel in the English conditions.
"Both of them can play. They should play, both of them. Because both can bat, both have the experience of bowling on any track. The biggest plus point is Jadeja can bat up the order. The way he is performing. Mind you if you look at his domestic record, he's got three triple hundreds. I think he can bat long and Ashwin has got international hundreds also. I feel if there's a little chance where you can play both the spinners, you should play. They have enough experience to win you games on any wicket," said Ojha.
The former spinner also added that the overall balance of the team looks great. "Overall, it's a fantastic team. Even I was following Hanuma Vihari. Very thoughtful of him to go and play some county cricket. You know you get used to, you get acclimatized to the conditions. That's very important," Ojha added.
Ravindra Jadeja returned to the Indian Test team after a gap of more than 4 months. Jadeja sustained an injury on his thumb during the second Test match against Australia in December last year. He continued to be on the sidelines for several months and missed the Test series against England also. He made a roaring return to cricket in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) when his performances propelled Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to the top half of the table before the tournament was suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis in India.
Meanwhile, Ashwin has continued to lead India’s bowling attack in Jadeja’s absence. He has been the top wicket-getter for India in Tests in recent times and has also started contributing with the bat on a more frequent basis. Ashwin recently scored a century against England on a difficult track in Chennai while also saving the Test match in Sydney with a gritty knock.
