Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar. Credit: AFP

Former Indian opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar has observed the changing mentality of Ravindra Jadeja that has led to his success in Test cricket. Ravindra Jadeja has indeed established himself as an integral part of the Indian team across formats in the last couple of years. Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that Jadeja’s thinking as a batsman has enabled him to perform well in Tests.

Ravindra Jadeja was a vital contributor in India’s first innings of 326 as he made 57 runs to share a century stand with captain Ajinkya Rahane. It enabled the tourists to recover from a tricky period of 173-5 to give themselves a genuine chance of leveling the series. Australia found themselves at 133-6 by the end of the third day, leading only by two runs and needing a monumental effort from their lower order.

Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja
Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja. Image Credits: Getty Images

Sunil Gavaskar underlined that earlier Ravindra Jadeja used to come at number eight or nine and thought he might be a bowling all-rounder. Thus, he hardly had a focus on his batting and belief in his ability.

“Earlier, when he used to come to bat, he used to come at No.8 or No.9. So, at that time probably his thinking might have been that he is a bowling all-rounder. So, he did not give that much attention or focus to his batting,” Gavaskar told Sony Sports Network.

He scored a century and reached near a hundred one other time as well: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar. (Credits: Twitter)

The 71-year old pointed out that having batted at number six or seven for the last one and a half year, Jadeja is thinking as a batsman and approaching his innings that way. The 125-Test veteran claimed that it has been the reason for his consistency too.

“When he used to come to the crease, he was not thinking as a batsman. But now that he is batting at No.6 or No.7 for the last one and a half years or so, he has started to approach his innings as a batsman. Because of that, he has been very consistent for the last one and a half years. He scored a century and reached near a hundred one other time as well,” he added.

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