"You need to press more” - Former India all-rounder’s blunt criticism of Ravindra Jadeja in ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

There can be multiple reasons behind team India's loss against England in the first match of the ongoing 5-match series. Along with multiple dropped catches, the Shubman Gill-led side's bowling performance also attracts criticism from several experts.

A former Indian cricketer, now a commentator and cricket expert, heavily criticized Ravindra Jadeja, one of the experienced players of the squad. India faced two batting collapses in the Headingley Test. In the first innings, one after another wickets fell while Jadeja was standing at the non-striker's end. According to Pathan, the all-rounder should go for a counterattackwhen wickets are falling within a very short time span. In the first and the second innings, the southpaw registered 11 (15) and 25* (40), respectively. Jadeja took 32 balls and 13 runs before going for a four and a six against Josh Tounge in the second innings. The defensive mindset Jadeja showed frustrated Irfan Pathan.

The 40-year-old former cricketer said in this YouTube video, "You could’ve scored at least 100 runs in the first innings if there had been no collapse. You could’ve sealed the match. You had to score 550 in the first innings... There is hope from Jadeja’s batting and bowling. If you play with tail enders, you need to press more and play big shots from early on."

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Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out Jadeja's bowling 

Notably, India lost their last seven wickets for 41 runs in the first innings, and in the second essay, the team lost their last six wickets for 31 runs. Another cricket expert, Sanjay Manjrekar, criticized Ravindra Jadeja for his bowling performance in Leeds. Manjrekar openly took on the star all-rounder for his bowling on the fifth day. He blamed the cricketer for not using the rough patches of the surface.

"This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit, and while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience. These weren’t typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing. I felt he didn’t use the rough nearly enough, especially against Ben Duckett," the cricket expert said.