"They're expected to...": Rohit Sharma makes bold statement on Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin's 'standard'

India National Cricket Team skipper Rohit Sharma defended the star all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin after they failed to perform in the first two Test matches of the ongoing series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.

Rohit Sharma said that there are 'too much expectations' from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to deliver in all the matches, which is quite unfair for the all-rounders.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja failed in the first two Tests against New Zealand

The duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have unarguably been the biggest reason behind the dominance of the Indian team in the home Test series.

Ashwin and Jadeja have delivered one after another stunning performances both with bat and ball, to stun the teams visiting India. However, they were quite ineffective in the first two Tests against New Zealand, which resulted in India losing their first Test series at home since the 2012-13 season.

In the first Test in Bengaluru against the Kiwis, Ashwin picked up one wicket while Jadeja got three wickets. With the bat, Ashwin registered 0 & 15 and Jadeja registered 0 & 5.

As the Test moved to Pune, the duo were expected to return to form, but that once again didn't happen. Ashwin picked up 5 wickets and Jadeja got just 3. With the bat, Ashwin (4 & 18) and Jadeja (38 & 42) were not at their best either.

There is too much expectation on those two guys - Rohit Sharma

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma said that Ashwin and Jadeja have set high standards for themselves because of which they have to deal with the burden of high expectations. Rohit Sharma elaborated:

“There is too much expectation on those two guys. Every game they play, they are expected to take wickets, they are expected to run through the team and they are expected to win Test matches for us. I don’t think that’s fair.

“It’s the responsibility of all of us to make sure that we get Test wins, not just the two guys. Of course, by their standard, they know where they stand and what they haven’t been able to do or what they haven’t done really well.

“But again, both of them have played so much cricket here and have such huge contributions to our success of having that home streak of 18 series. These two have played a major role in that…."

Rohit Sharma further said that Ashwin and Jadeja are allowed to have bad days and it would not happen every time.

“They know exactly what happens and sometimes they are allowed to have some bad games here and there and not go by that expectation that this is the opportunity for me to take wickets and run through the opposition. That’s not going to happen every time. So you got to be ready with the other guys also to step in,” Rohit Sharma added.

If Ash doesn’t do well, it’s Jadeja who needs to come to the party - Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma further spoke about the need for the bowlers to fire as a unit, as anyone can be off-color on a particular day. He explained:

“Like we keep talking about with the batters it is not the responsibility of a few individuals, it is the collective batting unit that needs to come together. So it’s the same with the bowling unit as well.

“If Ash doesn’t do well, it’s Jadeja who needs to come to the party or Washy or Kuldeep or Axar, those guys. So it has to be shared amongst everyone,” he said.

“Washy had a great game, I am really proud of that. He is proud of that and we are happy with his performance. He bowled so well…”

Rohit Sharma concluded by saying that Ashwin and Jadeja have bagged over 800 wickets together in Test cricket and are aware of the things they need to do to shine again. He elaborated:

"But again, we are talking about someone who is taking 500 wickets and 300 wickets respectively. So they know exactly how they have gotten those wickets and how they have every time come out and won Test matches for us.

“So it is very hard on them to just have that expectation every time that they turn up that they need to take wickets for us. It can happen, it can happen that things won’t work out for them but that is the time when others need to step in and take that extra responsibility…”