Michael Vaughan feels Ravindra Jadeja's absence gives England a chance to dominate

Ravindra Jadeja was the second-highest wicket-taker in the previous home Test series against England
Ravindra Jadeja was the second-highest wicket-taker in the previous home Test series against England

Ravindra Jadeja will miss the entire four-match Test series against England because of his thumb injury. According to former English skipper Michael Vaughan, the visitors have a chance of dominating India in this series because of Jadeja's absence.

Team India has made a disappointing start in the Chennai Test match. Visiting captain Joe Root scored a double century after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes supported him with half-centuries as England ended Day 2 at 555/8 in 180 overs.

Michael Vaughan had earlier predicted the home side to win this series 3-0. However, he expressed his desire to change his prediction in his recent tweet.

"Think I may need to change my series prediction ... !!! #India without @imjadeja in these conditions gives England a sniff ... Plus this England Test team are playing high quality Test cricket !!! #INDvENG," wrote Michael Vaughan.

As mentioned earlier, England batted brilliantly at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. They tormented the Indian spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar, and Shahbaz Nadeem, scoring 397 runs in their 120 overs.

Why Ravindra Jadeja could have made a difference in the ongoing Chennai Test

Ravindra Jadeja did not play the Brisbane Test match against Australia
Ravindra Jadeja did not play the Brisbane Test match against Australia

Ravindra Jadeja has transformed into a complete all-rounder now. He can win matches for Team India with his batting, bowling, and fielding. In the last home Test series against the England cricket team, Jadeja had taken 26 wickets in five matches.

The left-arm spinner was the second-most successful bowler in the series after Ravichandran Ashwin. When England battled India on this ground in 2016/17, Jadeja took ten wickets and helped the home side win by an innings. Besides, he has played many games at Chepauk for the Chennai Super Kings as well.

Thus, Michael Vaughan rightly pointed out Ravindra Jadeja's absence as the reason behind India's shortcomings in Chennai.

Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download Cric Rocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more!

Quick Links

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee