The first day of the second Test in Nagpur against Sri Lanka saw yet another convincing performance from the world number one Test side but when Ravindra Jadeja arrived at the press-conference, the journalists, instead of asking the left-arm spinner about the day’s play, bombarded him with questions related to Virat Kohli’s pre-match comments.
Speaking before the start of the match, Kohli had said that he could not guarantee a regular starting place for Jadeja and his spin partner Ravichandran Ashwin in South Africa, causing a lot of buzz among the cricketing fraternity. Jadeja and Ashwin have been pivotal to India’s dominance performance in Tests in the last couple of years but with conditions being unfriendly for the tweakers on the bouncy South African pitches, Kohli made it clear that the spinners would be picked as per the need, also hinting that the team could play with only one spinner.
Jadeja, however, did not sound too worried over Kohli’s remarks and said he is just focused on things that he can control. The interaction began with an interesting question with the Saurashtra star being asked who he would have chosen between him and Ashwin in the playing XI for South Africa Tests.
In reply, Jadeja came up with a funny remark, saying:
“Yeh bhi koi puchne ki baat hain (Is this a question that you even need to ask?). If I am the captain, I will not even give the ball to anyone (laughs). I will keep bowling from one end.”
However, he was quick to make his point clear, saying:
“It all depends on team’s balance and what it wants. At times on overseas tours, we assess if there are more left-handers or right-handers in the opposition and accordingly, the team’s composition is set.”
Jadeja and Ashwin bounced back from their horror show in the first Test with a stunning display in Nagpur. Jadeja picked up 3 for 51 while Ashwin took 4 for 67 as the hosts bowled the Islanders out for just 205.
The left-arm spinner further said he would try to do well if given a chance in South Africa before adding that the team would be picked depending on the composition of the opposition.
“I can only control the controllable. When I get an opportunity, I will try to do well. What is not in my control, there is no point thinking about it. When I get a chance to play in South Africa, I will try to do well,” he said.
“When I got a chance the last time, I played the second Test after Ashwin played the first. That’s why I said that team’s combination will depend on composition of the opposition,” he added.
Speaking about the difference in the Eden Gardens pitch and the current one, Jadeja said:
“There was a lot of help from the wicket there (Kolkata) so you guys must have felt that every ball will yield a wicket but that was not the case here because this wicket had grass but not the bounce or swing or the overcast conditions of Kolkata. That’s why we did not get much help but the two (Ishant and Yadav) bowled well in the first session.”
Jadeja also sounded happy with his performance, saying:
“I was very happy as to how I bowled today. There was no help from the wicket and I was looking to bowl in right areas.” India have gone with only four specialist bowlers in this Test and for Jadeja it is important to get 20 wickets irrespective of whether you play four or five bowlers.
He also spoke on the importance of going in with five bowlers.
“The five-bowler combination means if we need to get 20 wickets, then you need bowlers to do that. Even if you score 700 or 800 runs, if you can’t take 20 wickets, you won’t win the match. It’s important that you have all options – like all-rounders, bowlers, to utilize them as per conditions,” he explained.