Sanjay Manjrekar reckons Ravindra Jadeja is a batting all-rounder for India
Sanjay Manjrekar / Source: Twitter
Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has recently opened up on team India's move of promoting Ravindra Jadeja in the batting order in the all-important clash against the arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, August 28 in Dubai.
Chasing a victory target of 148 runs, the Men in Blue were in a spot of bother, having lost both of their openers KL Rahul (0) and Rohit Sharma (12) early. However, to keep the Pakistan left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and leg-spinner Shadab Khan under check, team India promoted Jadeja up in the order.
The faith vested in Jadeja at number four reaped handsome dividends as the southpaw went on to stitch a match-winning 52-run stand with Hardik Pandya for the fifth wicket that eventually helped India seal the match by 5 wickets.
Jadeja was the joint highest run-scorer alongside former India skipper Virat Kohli, having cracked 35 runs from 29 deliveries. Meanwhile, Manjrekar, who once called Jadeja a 'bits and pieces' player, appreciated the move to promote Jadeja up the order and said that it wasn't a gamble.
Speaking exclusively on SPORTS18’s daily sports news show SPORTS OVER THE TOP, Manjrekar affirmed:
“Yes. Very good move and I loved it. And I don’t think it was a gamble. It wasn’t a wild card because Pakistan was bowling two spinners, one leg spinner, and a left-arm spinner, Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab. So, they were going to bowl for a while and that’s what Babar did. It was like they bowled one over spell or two over spell."
Jadeja can be looked at as a batting all-rounder now
The former India cricketer-turned-commentator further said that Jadeja should now be put into the category of a proper batting all-rounder for team India as he bowled two overs against Pakistan and fit into the team perfectly.
"A left-hander coming in would just make things a little difficult. The ball also, the pitch looked green, but the ball was turning, so the spinners were going to make an impact. So that was pretty good. And also, there was another long-term clue or a thought that could come in, which is that now slowly in white ball cricket, Jadeja could now be looked at as a batting all-rounder.
"He bowled 2 overs, but if he’s going to take important positions in the batting order and make the kind of contribution that he did against Pakistan then Wow! He fits in perfectly."
The Men in Blue kicked off their Asia Cup 2022 campaign on a rousing note as they outgunned arch-rivals Pakistan in the first game courtesy of Hardik Pandya's all-around brilliance.
The 2022 IPL-winning captain first plucked out three wickets and later chipped in with an unbeaten 33 off 17 to take his side home. The Rohit Sharma-led outlet will be next seen in action against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31) in Dubai.
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