Had It Been A Five-Day Game, Ravindra Jadeja Would Definitely Have Come In Handy - MSK Prasad On All-Rounder's Selection In WTC Final

Former BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad reflects on the combination of Team India in the loss to New Zealand in the World Test Championship Final at The Ageas Bowl last week. India went in with two spinning all-rounders in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

While the former’s place wasn’t in doubt – Ashwin was Man of the Series at home against England – the latter’s lack of game-time, and the pace-bowling friendly conditions in England meant Jadeja could have been benched.

He was picked but didn’t give any impactful returns in the game – the left-hander had scores of 15 and 16 and picked one wicket.

MSK Prasad, however, believes that India went with their “best possible XI” that included Jadeja. He points out that the southpaw has been in superb touch with the bat – an average of 47.37 since 2017 – and his bowling would have indeed come fruitful if the match would have been a 5-day affair instead of the less-than-four-day game due to two days being washed out.

“There was a reason why Jadeja was played. The reason was that, if in case it would have been a full game, there would have been a lot of footmarks, they [NZ] had many left-handers in their side, which he could have fancied his chances against. If you really look at it, there was some spin on offer which helped even Ashwin,” MSK Prasad told Sportskeeda.

“Also, considering the kind of form that Jadeja is in, that was the best possible XI we could have put up. The first day got washed but it still was a five-day game with the extension of one more day. So had it been a five-day game, Jadeja would definitely have come in handy,” he added.

Had Hardik Pandya been around, then there would not have been any second thoughts: MSK Prasad

MSK Prasad further opined that had Hardik Pandya been fit for playing in Test cricket, then he would have certainly made into the team in seam-friendly conditions. Pandya hasn’t played Test cricket since the 2108 tour to England owing to his back injury issues.

“Jadeja is no less than anyone with the bat. If you see his Test record of late, he has been very good with the bat. Plus, he would have been an added advantage with the ball and also on the field.

“Had Hardik Pandya been around, then there would not have been any second thoughts. But since he is not there, we wanted one more all-rounder and we only had a spinning all-rounder,” MSK Prasad, the former selector further elucidated.

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