'He has not yet realised his potential but is already magnificent': Sehwag lauds 'important player' of India's Test team

India's batting runs deep and Virender Sehwag lauded one of the 'important' members of the team for his contributions.

India's batting, over the past few years, has shown frailties, especially when performing overseas, but while there have been a few concerns, the same batting line-up has shown it can stand up and face the challenge with grit and determination. Look at how the Test series against Australia panned out. India were dismissed for their lowest Test total of 36 in the first Test in Adelaide, but the way they responded in the following three Tests was nothing short of epic, with Ajinkya Rahane, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant making a statement with impactful innings.

Virender Sehwag is high on praise for India's star all-rounder. (Getty Images)

The same could be witness in the first Test in England. India got off to a fine start reaching 97/0 in the first innings, before a mini-collapse saw them lose five wickets for 48 runs. That is when KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja added 60 runs for the sixth wicket with the all-rounder scoring a half-century. Jadeja's 56 was crucial for India attaining a first-innings lead of 95 runs over England.

Praising Jadeja for his effort, former India batsman Virender Sehwag called the all-rounder an important member of the Test side and explained how it was primarily due to his effort that India were able to get their noses in front of the hosts in the first Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

"Ravindra Jadeja is an important player of this team, especially when we talk about Test match cricket because firstly, he bowls 25-30 overs and secondly, he comes and bats at No.7 or No.8. When the main batsmen get out, he scores those crucial runs. He scored 56 runs in this Test match; they were crucial runs. Probably, because of his 56 runs only India got the lead and went ahead of England," Sehwag said on Sony Sports Network.

Sehwag recalled when Jadeja first came into the senior team and fit the requirements in terms of a quality all-rounder. The former batsman feels Jadeja is meant for greater things and his current performance is just a trailer of big thing to come in future.

"Now, Jadeja is a main bowler, left-arm spinner for India, and his contribution with the bat. He has not yet realized his potential but is already magnificent," Sehwag added. "I still remember when Ravindra Jadeja had come for the first time, I was the vice-captain that time, our mindset was to get a bowler who bats as well and gives a break to our main bowlers. He came with that thinking."