New Zealand registered a comfortable 10 wicket victory over India in the opening Test of the series against India. Ravi Jadeja was omitted from the playing XI as India opted to play just one spinner, Ravi Ashwin.
Ashwin performed well with the ball on a green surface, taking 3-99 in New Zealand’s first innings but his prolonged downturn in form with the bat has prompted questions about his place in the side away from home.
Ashwin averages just 17.36 with the bat since the start of 2017 whereas Jadeja averages 49.80 in the same time period. While the spin duo generally play together in home Tests, Jadeja and Ashwin have played in just four away Tests together over the course of their respective careers with only two of those outside of Asia.
On the latest Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, Aadya Sharma and host Yas Rana discussed whether Jadeja would represent a more astute pick for India in the second Test of the series in Christchurch.
YR: Do you think there’ll be any changes made for the second Test? I’m amazed when Ravi Jadeja isn’t an India side in any format, to be honest.
AS: A lot of people have been saying that Jadeja should be included instead of Ashwin. Ashwin is a great option to have outside India as well – he had a decent outing in the first Test also – but one thing that is against him is that his batting form has dipped considerably.
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Jadeja provides a lot with the bat and he’s improved considerably in the last three years and on the Christchurch pitch that might not suit spinners as much, you could have someone like Jadeja who relies more on his angles and variations and you can obviously have him for his batting batting because he has been really good recently.
You can listen to the full episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcaston the Podcast App or Spotify.
