With the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy nicely poised at 1-1, and the ongoing Lord’s Test hanging in the balance, former India opener, Wasim Jaffer, who played a crucial role the last time India won a Test series on English soil, in 2007, in an exclusive interview with RevSportz, talked about a range of things starting from the young Indian team, the opening duo of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill’s record-breaking batting show, Jasprit Bumrah and much more.
Here are the excerpts:
The series is nicely locked at 1-1. This young Indian team has done well so far. What has been your takeaway from the series we have had so far?
Wasim Jaffer: I think it has been a very impressive start to the series. Before the start of the third Test match, I would say that India won 9 out of 10 days. One day, the fifth day of the first Test, India made a few mistakes. Our tail-enders, lower middle order did not contribute much with the bat. Some catches were missed. Otherwise, I feel, India would have been 2-0 at this stage. India would have been dominating the series. But these things happen. They will obviously learn. But the start was very good. They batted very well. Bumrah did what Bumrah does all the time. But Akash Deep, the way he bowled, the way Siraj bowled in the last Test match, it was very positive. Going into this Test match also, to restrict them for below 400 runs, and the way they are batting, I think there are a lot of positives going forward.
Before this series, Rohit Sharma called it quits from Test format. There were questions asked whether KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal would be the perfect pair to take things forward. How do you see this pair?
Jaffer: The role of the openers is always very crucial because you have to play the new ball well. The base is made by the openers. If you get through the new ball, then the middle order can do their part. So KL and Yashasvi have done well.
Any team that does well, its foundation is generally built by the openers because here you have to play the new ball well. You don’t want to be two down, three down very quickly. They have done a very good job. Even in Australia, I thought they batted well whenever they had the opportunity to open. This series, KL has got a couple of 100s. Yashasvi has got a 100. Shubman is in tremendous form. Rishabh has got runs. So a lot of things are clicking. The Indian team has ticked literally most boxes compared to the England team.
Also Read: Can Jasprit Bumrah and company push for the win after gaining parity?
You mentioned Shubman Gill. A record-breaking start of the series for him. How do you see Shubman, as a leader and batter?
Jaffer: No. 4, the way he has taken the responsibility, and the way he has filled the void of Virat Kohli, it’s not small shoes to fill. The way he batted in the first two Test matches was outstanding. And I feel, as he captains more and more, I think he will become a good leader. The pressure that we talk about, whether the pressure of the captaincy will affect his performance, we have got the answer. Captaincy is bringing the best out of Gill. Tactically, he will improve. He is this up-and-coming captain. He is a very intelligent guy, somebody who leads from the front. So, he is not going to shy away from responsibility. I see good things happening under his captaincy.
What about Rishabh Pant? His batting always make headlines, whether good or bad. He has had a fantastic start to the series. What makes him such a special batter?
Jaffer: He brings the X-Factor into that line-up. You know, in our time, Virender Sehwag used to be like that. Rishabh Pant is also pretty similar. In fact, probably a little bit more. He knows how to get runs. You know, you’ve got to give credit to him. No matter how he bats, he knows how to score runs. And he puts opposition under pressure. So, you know, he has his own style. He has his own methods. As long as he is scoring runs, he is, you know, bailing the Indian team out. He is scoring runs. He has won India Test matches. He has won India series. So, you can’t question him. You need to give that freedom to such players. You can’t tie them up. Otherwise, we won’t see what we are seeing from Rishabh Pant. I hope that he stays consistent, stays fit. Because he brings a lot of joy. He is somebody who keeps you on the edge of your seat. That is something we love about him.
What about Jasprit Bumrah? A lot of polarising opinions around why is he resting so much, workload, etc. Is the criticism fair on such a genius of a bowler?
Jaffer: I think he knows his body very well. He has played for 10 or more years. I think the physios, the medical staff, know what’s going on with his body. As a fan, as an outsider, we want him to play every game. There is no doubt about it. But we need to understand that if he gets injured now, there is a chance that he might not play and he might be away for long. We don’t want that to happen. I feel, whatever the medical staff is trying to suggest, or Bumrah himself has said that he probably won’t play all the five Test matches and that’s the reason he hasn’t taken the captaincy. So, we’ve got to respect that. I’m sure he also wants to be part of every Test match. But because of his style, because of his bowling action, because of the workload, he can’t do that. And we don’t want Bumrah to get injured. We can take Bumrah not playing one or two matches, but we can’t take that Bumrah is going to be out for three, four, five, six months. So, you know, we need to be sensible about that.
India have not won a series in England since 2007. WIth the series at 1-1, what would be your prediction? Can India do it this time?
Jaffer: Yes, absolutely. As I said, if things had gone in our favour, we could have been 2-0 up. But these things happen. You know, you got to give credit to England also because they have also played well. They have also fought along the way with the Indian team. This young team has, you know, lots going for them. I feel India, from here, could be in the driver’s seat. If India wins this Lord’s Test, I think there will be a lot of pressure on England.
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