I could not believe how poorly Ravindra Jadeja bowled in Leeds Test: Mark Butcher

Former England batter and commentator Mark Butcher has slammed the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for not using his experience in the fourth innings of the Leeds Test, which India lost by five wickets eventually, to start the series on a worrying note.

Jadeja, the senior-most player in the Indian playing XI, could score only 11 and 25* runs with the willow. Moreover, with the ball, he returned with the figures of 0/68 and 1/104 in both innings. Interestingly, Jadeja was questioned by many for not using the rough to disturb the opposition batters.

“I could not believe how poorly he bowled, really. I'd likened it to owning a hammer but punching nails in with your fist instead – not landing the ball in the rough at all until, basically, it was too late. That was extraordinary, really,” said Mark Butcher on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast.

“You talk about experience, and he has all the experience in the world. Somehow, it didn't seem to click to him or Rishabh Pant, the keeper, that it might be a good idea not to keep missing the rough all day to the left-handers,” he added.

Furthermore, the former England batter also questioned the Indian think tank team for selecting the bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur in the XI for the Leeds Test. Thakur looked completely ineffective for a long spell, failing to create a significant impact. Moreover, he couldn’t make it big with the bat as well.

“The issue around the lineup itself... how much more interesting might that last day have been had they gone for Kuldeep [Yadav] instead of [Shardul] Thakur, Thakur had had a really poor game until that one over where he gave India a tiny sniff at the back-end,” he observed.

“If you're not contributing with the bat down there at No.8, you damn well be taking wickets, and be in the game as a bowler for more of the game than he was,” he concluded.

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