England Need To Find Their Own Ravindra Jadeja: Kevin Pietersen

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has urged England cricket to start looking for their own Ravindra Jadeja in the near future.

Writing in his blog ahead of the England-New Zealand Test series, Kevin Pietersen lamented at the fact that England haven’t been able to find an international standard left-arm spinner who can bat.

”It frustrates me that there still isn’t an international-standard English left-arm spin bowler who bats,” wrote Pietersen in his blog for Betway.

The former English captain heaped high praise on Ravindra Jadeja while alluding to the impact that the Indian all-rounder has had across formats.

The outspoken South African-born Englishman urged the ECB to prioritize developing a player in the mold of Jadeja as he feels that players of such ilk can be priceless for the team across formats.

“Look at what Ravindra Jadeja has done for India in Test match cricket, one-day cricket, and T20 cricket,” wrote Pietersen.

“It’s the one position that the ECB must be prioritizing. They need to invest in somebody because someone of that ilk is priceless across all three formats,” he added.

‘Copy what Jadeja does’- Kevin Pietersen to young England cricketers

Pietersen further urged the emerging English players to follow Ravindra Jadeja’s footsteps if they want to forge a long and successful Test career.

“If you’re a kid, an emerging player or a county cricketer, copy Jadeja. Copy what Jadeja does because he’s an absolute superstar. You’ll have a long career as a Test match cricketer for England.

England have gone with an all-out pace attack for the opening Test against New Zealand and Pietersen reckoned that it is indicative of the quality of spin options they have at their disposal.

“It’s going to be a very hot week at Lord’s England reconsidering not picking a spinner. That just shows us where they are at with the quality of their options,” added Pietersen.

The former cricket added that England must develop a quality left-arm spinner or else their batsmen will continue to struggle against these sort of bowlers; something that was exposed to the hilt by Lasith Embuldeniya and Axar Patel during the winter Tests.

“They must identify and properly develop a left-arm spin all-rounder or that department will always be a weakness,” he said.

Also Read: MS Dhoni Is The Best Finisher I’ve Seen: David Miller