Former South African gun fast bowler Dale Steyn reckons India definitely missed the services of Ravindra Jadeja in the recently concluded tour.
India lost the Test series by 2-1 against the Proteas whereas they suffered a drubbing of 3-0 in the ODI series.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja has been India’s best all-rounder in the last couple of years. Jadeja has delivered the goods for the team in the red-ball version, especially with the bat, and has scored crucial runs while batting down the order. The left-hander has definitely improved his batting in the last couple of years and the results are palpable.
However, Jadeja was ruled out due to a finger injury, which he suffered in the series against New Zealand and could not travel to South Africa.
“They definitely missed somebody like Sir Ravi Jadeja. I just think he is a wonderful cricketer. He can control the game with his left-arm spin. He is brilliant and he can also bat,” said Steyn on Star Sports following India’s defeat in the ODI series.
Meanwhile, India was not able to create enough pressure with the ball in the ODI series as Jasprit Bumrah looked like a lone warrior. Bhuvneshwar Kumar went wicketless while Mohammed Siraj didn’t play due to hamstring trouble. Furthermore, Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal failed to create any pressure in the middle overs.
“India’s got a bit of a bowling issue. They need somebody to back up Bumrah. They need someone who can bowl in a 140-145km per hour bracket. Shami is great. He had a long Test series. Siraj looks like a name for the future. I think he’s got a bit of a niggle,” Steyn further said.
Stand-in captain KL Rahul had admitted that the team kept making the same mistakes in the ODI series, which led to the downfall of the team.
“We kept making the same mistakes but it is early on in our journey to the World Cup. So we must go back (home), have some hard conversations and look at ourselves in the mirror to see where we can get better,” he had said in the post-match presentation.
India will next face West Indies in the limited-overs series and Rohit Sharma will return back to the team.
