The battle between Sanjay Manjrekar and Ravindra Jadeja doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Both of them first clashed against each other on social media after Manjrekar called Jadeja a “bits-and-pieces” cricketer turned from bad to worse. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar dropped Ravindra Jadeja from his playing XI against Australia for the 1st ODI
Manjrekar revealed his selection thought process and explained that he does not have a problem with Jadeja. However, the 55-year-old cricket expert also maintained views about players like Jadeja. Manjrekar stated that he does not prefer ‘his kind of cricketers in white-ball cricket’. Manjrekar put forward that the management should use him as a substitute fielder if needed.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s Theory On Why R Ashwin Failed As A Batsmen.
India were bowled out for 36 in the second innings against Australia in the first Test, marking their lowest ever score. Meanwhile, Manjrekar has now blamed Jadeja for Ashwin’s failures. Ashwin, who is also tipped to be a decent batsman at the death, struggled to score runs against Australia. He managed to bag only 15 runs in the first innings and was followed by a duck in the second.
Manjrekar came up with his theory about why Ashwin is failing as a batsman and the blame goes straight away to Ravindra Jadeja. “Batsmen have an average of 35 and that was Ashwin’s average till 2016. So, he was almost playing the role of an all-rounder. He had four centuries, all against West Indies, and 10 fifties for a match-winning bowler,” Sanjay was quoted as saying on the Sony Sports network.
“But I have a theory that after 2017, Jadeja as a batsman has started to come ahead of him and has developed as a batsman. That means Ashwin’s number went a little down and after that, I feel his motivation for batting went down.
“He is also thinking somewhere or the other that he should concentrate on bowling. There is extra pressure on his bowling now. Earlier if one spinner was to be picked, Ravichandran Ashwin was an automatic choice but now Jadeja is fighting with him in Tests,” Sanjay concluded.
