England Vs India 2018: India Needs to Think Out of Box for Ravindra Jadeja

India lost its first Test match in the five-match series against England in the United Kingdom (UK). Virat Kohli and his company fought a fierce battle at Edgbaston in Birmingham. However, the Three Lions held their nerve and got a close win of 31 runs. India missed a golden opportunity to become the first Asian team to defeat England on this venue during the England vs India 2018 Test opener.

Once again, the batting order of India got exposed baring heroics from Kohli. In overseas tours, India is missing the lack of application from its top order from a long time now which has eventually become a severe headache for the management.

Simultaneously, when it comes to the adaptation of opening batsmen, it further keeps leadership at the edge in one way or another.

Stats prove whenever India got a good start, and it is eventually followed by the pile of runs from Indian middle-order, India wraps up those matches on a triumphant note.

Presently, no batsman in middle-order is scoring for India other than Kohli himself.

The dearth of an impactful opener:

India is missing an aggressive batsman like Virender Sehwag, who could accelerate and subsequently put pressure on the opposition instead of letting them stick with their plans.

An attacking opener could hit boundaries to not only keep the scoreboard ticking but may also force opposition captain to make some necessary changes and which might spoil the plans of the team.

The former Indian seamer, Venkatesh Prasad is of the same view that India is continuously in search of an impactful opener.

In the present squad, there is one man who can do such a job for India. Ravindra Jadeja is the man, who can fill the deficiency of an impactful opener owing to his attacking instinct.

In the same breath, Jadeja could not cement his place for so long in an overseas tour. With the presence of Ravichandran Ashwin, who fills the boots as an all-rounder, India is continually missing the services of Jadeja.

Well, Kohli is famous for his ‘bag of secrets’. He needs to develop confidence in Jadeja and ask him to open an innings. The batting mainstay should boost Jadeja and ask him to play freely without caring for getting dropped in case of any lousy performance.

The Indian openers and their middle-order woes

One needs to realise mostly the openers have played in the middle-order setup from their respective states. There is no exception when it comes to the legendary batsman, Sachin Tendulkar.

The present skipper, Kohli needs to leaf out of his predecessor’s book to do so. Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a vital role in the resurgence of Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma in a nutshell.

With the presence of Jadeja, Kohli would also get an extra option of bowling. England has a poor record against left-arm spin bowling, and Kohli could use this luxury cleverly.

It is noteworthy that besides having two triple-centuries in domestic, Ravindra Jadeja is an acrobatic fielder as well. He could be crucial in the ongoing England Vs India 2018 Test series.