“You need to press more” - Former India all-rounder’s blunt criticism of Ravindra Jadeja in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has slammed Ravindra Jadeja for his poor performance with the bat and ball in the opening Test against England in Leeds. The cricketer-turned-commentator questioned his intent for not playing big shots while batting with tail-enders. The remarks came as Jadeja returned with figures of 11 (15) and 25 (40) in the two innings, respectively.

The southpaw scored just 13 runs off 32 balls before smashing Josh Tongue for a four and a six during the second essay.

On Wednesday, June 25, Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel:

“4:05 – There is hope from Jadeja’s batting and bowling. If you play with tail, you need to press more, play big shots from early on.”

Pathan further slammed India for their batting collapse during their first innings and shared his disappointment with the tourists dropping five catches in the contest. The 40-year-old said:

“2:29 – If you are 430/3 and get bowled out for 471, that means you conceded defeat. You lost seven wickets for 41 runs. In the field, you dropped five catches. You could’ve scored at least 100 runs in the first innings if there had been no collapse. You could’ve sealed the match. You had to score 550 in the first innings.”

Notably, Team India suffered two collapses in their two innings. They lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs in the first innings before losing their last six wickets for 31 runs in the second innings. Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal alone dropped at least four catches during the fourth innings.

“These weren’t typical English conditions” – Former India batter slams Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling on Day 5 of opening Test

Meanwhile, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar slammed Ravindra Jadeja for his poor bowling display on Day 5 of the opening Test. The 59-year-old criticized the left-arm spinner for not using the rough. The cricketer-turned-commentator told JioHotstar (via Firstpost):

“I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit, and while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience. These weren’t typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing. I felt he didn’t use the rough nearly enough, especially against Ben Duckett. “Against Ben Stokes, yes, he did make an effort. But it was only much later in Duckett’s innings that Jadeja started using the rough properly. When you’re dealing with experienced bowlers and seasoned batters, you expect a higher level of tactical awareness. Somewhere, I felt Jadeja was disappointing. The seamers had no help from the surface but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch working in his favor,” he added.

Jadeja took the solitary wicket of Ben Stokes in the first Test as England chased down 371, winning the match by five wickets, to go 1-0 ahead in the five-match Test series.

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by James Kuanal