Ravindra Jadeja’s absence a boon for England ahead of its test series with India

Last updated on February 6th, 2021 at 08:59 am

After the exceptional win against Australia earlier this month, team India will now face England as its test challenge that will consist of four matches which will be played across two different venues owing to the traveling limitations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

One can predict by their ongoing form that the two teams will present a tough competition in front of each other. England has an amazing win against Sri Lanka while India is fresh off the lands of Australia. What falls in favor of the English side is the addition of explosive batsmen Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. Apart from this, absence of Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. 

The opener for the England side, Mark Butcher also feels that Jadeja not being part of the Indian side will greatly benefit the English side. While talking to the Times of India, Butcher said, “Embuldeniya is a quality spinner and our batters had problems facing him. England will be buoyed by Jadeja’s absence. India possesses a world-class bowling attack but Jadeja adds a different dimension to it.”

He also agreed that it will not be easy facing the confident Indian side and they have to be more than prepared to be patient and receive a challenging situation head-on. He further added that English batsmen will be referring to all the videos of Indian bowlers and will be well prepared on the field having done their homework. 

There was a little trouble for the England side as they were struggling to decide on the opening partnership. Butcher however preferred the left-right combination of Rory Burns and Dom Sibley for the opening partnership. He believes that it is the two batsmen who have been doing the job for the longest time so they should continue doing it. 

“A left-right combination is handy and England will want to stick with them. If the two get off to a good start, the rest of the batsmen too will gain confidence and it lifts the mood of the dressing room,” he said. 

He also added that none of the team is one man team. Teams of both sides will be extensively preparing for the opposition because they know that they cannot rely on one player and that they will be preparing for the whole team and not just for Ashwin when it comes to a test match.