Former Indian spinner and commentator Ravi Ashwin has stated that the veteran Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is not the frontline attacking threat for the opposition batters. Notably, his comments came after India’s 165-run win in the Galle Test.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin asserted that Jadeja has passed his baton to the young left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who scalped an exceptional 10-wicket match haul away from home in Sri Lanka.
“Jadeja and Suthar are completely different bowlers. Suthar’s strength is the ball rotation in his hands. Jadeja will bowl to the wickets and give you control with his stock balls. I feel Jadeja is not that attacking spinner anymore. He is a batter who will give experience with the ball and I feel he has transitioned to that role, which is not such a bad thing,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
While Suthar grabbed the limelight in his debut Test against Afghanistan in June, he continued his heroics with impressive match-winning figures. Ashwin emphasised that Suthar grabbed the spotlight in India’s all-round winning performance.
“Manav Suthar, in the previous Test and this one as well, is putting his hands up and saying he also knows how to pick wickets. He was gauging what the batters might do and bowling accordingly. I feel as far as wicket-taking is concerned, there is no connection to how the ball comes off the hand. How you utilise it and set fields, that’s what matters. He has given a great account of his skills in the first two Tests. He is very important to India’s spin bowling stocks,” Ashwin said.
“433 is the average first-innings score at Galle. When India won the toss and put 450-plus on the board, everyone knew at that moment that it was going to be difficult for Sri Lanka. But I feel Sri Lanka played very well and gave a good fight for a young side. Devdutt Padikkal was incredible. Dhruv Jurel played well. Rishabh Pant played a superb knock in the second innings. Standard batting from KL Rahul. Manav Suthar was the highlight; everyone is going to talk about him,” he concluded.
