"He's a chunky little lad" - David Lloyd on Ravindra Jadeja leaving Sarfaraz Khan for dead in Rajkot Test

Former England all-rounder turned cricket pundit David Llyod was not fond of Ravindra Jadeja’s unfortunate mix-up with debutant Sarfaraz Khan which led to the latter’s dismissal through a run out after showing exceptional batting prowess on day 1 of the 3rd Test against Ben Stokes’ side at the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot.

Sarfaraz Khan was playing very well on his maiden Test appearance and did not miss out on displaying his skills right away. One of the most important facets of his knock was how good of a platform the Ranji Trophy circuit provides for a batsman to gain a sufficient amount of red-ball experience.

His years of constant grind in domestic cricket finally paid off, making his entire family proud. The moment Sarfaraz received his maiden Test cap, his father Naushad Khan as well as his wife were reduced to tears and it was indeed a moment to savor for every budding Indian cricketer who wishes to represent the national side someday.

Sarfaraz Khan was literally untouchable in his approach and his technique too was very good. He made sure to remain deep inside of the crease, did not take too many risks against pacers and his negotiations against spinners were extremely fantastic as well.

The 26-year-old maintained a strike rate of 94 throughout the course of innings and his aggression will definitely prove to be beneficial for India in the years to come. His knock included 9 fours and a six and he could have easily converted that start into a full century if Ravindra Jadeja hadn’t called for the run.

In the 82nd over’s 5th ball when Jadeja was batting at 99, he restlessly called for a single before noticing that he could be at the danger end of things in the non-striker’s end. Mid-off fielder Mark Wood after seeing Sarfaraz Khan go well ahead of his crease, made a darting throw and got him run out.

“He’s a chunky little lad”, David Lloyd calls out Sarfaraz Khan

That did not just inflict an aggressive reaction from skipper Rohit Sharma in the dressing room but also triggered reactions from many former cricketers and David Lloyd has become the latest to react. Llyod blamed Jadeja for his terrible call and also called Sarfaraz Khan an immature little lad.

The 76-year-old claimed that Jadeja was the one to throw Sarfaraz to the burner and also lauded Mark Wood for his accurate throw.

“You could see. They were at sixes and sevens, Jadeja and Sarfaraz as to what is a run and what isn’t. Jadeja is sharp; the young kid isn’t. He’s a chunky little lad, and they just struggled running between the wicket together. Jadeja is on 99, and he sells Sarfaraz down the river. He sets off, says yes-no, and he is stranded. Then Mark Wood’s got to do the job.” – David Lloyd told talkSport Cricket. 

Meanwhile, India’s 1st innings has come to an end with the dismissal of Jasprit Bumrah for 26 off 28. Rohit Sharma’s men have posted 445 as a 1st inning total through his notable knock of 131, Jadeja’s 112, Sarfaraz’s 62, Dhruv Jurel’s 46, and Ashwin’s 37.