Ravindra Jadeja The Reason Behind Ravichandran Ashwin's Motivation For Batting Going Down, Says Sanjay Manjrekar

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that Ravichandran Ashwin has shifted his focus from batting because of Ravindra Jadeja’s rise as a batsman. For an off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has a decent record in international cricket. The Tamil Nadu ace has hit almost 2,400 runs with the help of four centuries and 11 half-centuries.

However, he has not been able to do well with the bat in recent months. In fact, Ravichandran Ashwin has not scored a single half-century since August 2017.  In his last 20 Tests, he averages a mere 15.37 with a top-score of 38. And Sanjay Manjrekar believes the promotion of Jadeja ahead of him in the batting order has compelled him to take his focus off batting.

“Batsmen have an average of 35 and that was Ashwin’s average till 2016. So, he was almost playing the role of an all-rounder. He had four centuries, all against West Indies, and 10 fifties for a match-winning bowler,” Sanjay Manjrekar was quoted as saying during a discussion on the Sony Sports network.

“But I have a theory that after 2017, Jadeja as a batsman has started to come ahead of him and has developed as a batsman. That means Ashwin’s number went a little down and after that, I feel his motivation for batting went down.

“He is also thinking somewhere or the other that he should focus more on his bowling. There is more pressure on his bowling now. Because earlier if one spinner was to be picked, Ashwin was chosen straight away but now Jadeja is competing with him in Tests,” Manjrekar added.

Ravichandran Ashwin failed to deliver with the bat in the first Test against Australia too. He registered figures of 15 and 0 in the two innings. In the second innings, the entire Indian batting lineup failed as they were all out for just 36 to register their lowest total in Tests. Ashwin, however, impressed with the ball in the first innings. He was India’s most successful bowler and picked up four wickets including that of Steve Smith.

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