'He missed the rough a lot' - Varun Aaron criticizes Ravindra Jadeja's Day 5 bowling

Former Indian cricketer Varun Aaron has criticised Ravindra Jadeja for his ineffective bowling on Day 5 of the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. Aaron noted that the left-arm spinner failed to consistently target the rough, often bowling either too short or too full and quick.

The former pacer also pointed out that Jadeja frequently pitched the ball in the middle of the wicket, which allowed Ben Duckett to execute reverse sweeps comfortably during England’s successful chase. Jadeja finished with figures of 1 for 104 from 24 overs in England’s second innings, as the hosts secured a five-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

"More than the reverse sweeps, if we go back and view that footage when Jadeja was bowling over the wicket, I would say he missed the rough a lot. He bowled either too short or he was bowling too fast, too full. They were all pitching in the middle of the wicket, not on the rough," Aaron said on the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’.

Aaron remarked that as an experienced bowler, Jadeja was expected to exploit the final-day surface more effectively and guide India towards victory.

"Somebody who is really experienced, who bowls into the rough really well, especially in Indian conditions where there is a lot of rough, and he and (Ravichandran) Ashwin have stitched together so many match-winning performances, you would back him to bowl into the rough on the fifth day and secure India a very historic victory," Aaron added.

Joe Root will be a big trouble for India: Aaron

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that England’s top-order batter Joe Root could pose a major threat to India in the remainder of the series. He explained that Root’s technique of playing the ball outside the off-stump significantly reduces the chances of an LBW dismissal, making it difficult for Indian bowlers to hit his stumps.

"India are in big trouble when it comes to Joe Root. The way he is playing, he is shuffling so much outside off-stump, which is a good position to play anything that comes at him. He is almost removing lbw from the picture because he is outside the off-stump," said Aaron.

Aaron added that Root is in a strong position to deal with deliveries outside off-stump because he consistently plays the ball under his eyes. He noted that to dismiss a batter of Root’s ability, bowlers would need to come up with something truly special.

"Number one, you can't get him lbw as a fast bowler because he is going to be hit outside the line, and two, he is in such a good position to play anything that's outside the off-stump that he is meeting everything under his eye line. So as a bowler, you have to come up with something really special, which only Bumrah can, to get him out," Aaron concluded.