Published 10:51 IST, December 21st 2020
Sanjay Manjrekar stirs up another controversy with latest comments on Ravindra Jadeja?
Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has blamed Ravindra Jadeja for R Ashwin's downfall as a batsman in the last 2-3 years.
It is no secret that former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar does not rate Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja highly. The veteran cricket analyst has time and again taken shots at Jadeja, making many assume that there is something that he doesn't like about the Saurashtra lad. During the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 in England, Manjrekar had stirred a massive controversy by calling Jadeja a “bits and pieces” cricketer.
India vs Australia 2020: Sanjay Manjrekar blames Ravindra Jadeja for R Ashwin's downfall as batsman
Since then, Manjrekar has taken shots at Jadeja on several occasions. Now, the former cricketer has strangely blamed Jadeja for R Ashwin's downfall as a batsman in the last 2-3 years. While speaking on Sony Sports Network, Manjrekar said that batsmen generally have an average of 35 which was Ashwin’s average till 2016 and added that he was almost playing the role of an all-rounder. Manjrear further said that Ashwin had four centuries, all against West Indies, and 10 fifties for a match-winning bowler.
The 55-year old reckoned that he has a theory that after 2017, Jadeja was selected more in the Test team and given importance as a batsman, which is why Ashwin’s numbers fell to some extent. According to Manjrekar, after Jadeja started batting up the order, Ashwin's motivation for batting went down as well.
Manjrekar opined that Ashwin is thinking somewhere or the other that he should focus more on his bowling. He added that there is more pressure on his bowling now because earlier if one spinner was to be picked, Ashwin was chosen straight away but now Jadeja is competing with him in Tests.
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Ashwin is currently playing in the India vs Australia 2020 Test series. The off-spinner had a successful outing in the first-Test personally as he grabbed five wickets across both innings. According to the India vs Australia schedule, the second Test will start on Saturday, December 26 in Melbourne. Live action of the India vs Australia 2nd Test will commence at 9:30 AM (IST). T
he Indian team will be without the services of their skipper Virat Kohli who is all set to return to India to be with wife Anushka Sharma for the birth of their first child. Ajinkya Rahane will lead Team India in Kohli's absence.
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SOURCE: SANJAY MANJREKAR INSTAGRAM
Updated 10:52 IST, December 21st 2020