IPL 2021: Ravindra Jadeja should bat ahead of MS Dhoni, says Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja should be batting ahead of veteran wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni, in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) setup for the UAE leg of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Jadeja was seen batting at no. 6 in the first phase of the prestigious tournament, with Dhoni the next batsman at no.7. Manjrekar has urged the team management to maintain the same outlook with regard to the batting order.

“Jadeja should bat ahead of MS Dhoni. I think so (CSK will do well) because their approach has changed and Moeen Ali and Sam Curran have become impact players so they should perform better than the last time we saw them in UAE,” said the former Indian cricketer in an interaction with Cricinfo.

Manjrekar further believes that CSK should look to deploy Josh Hazlewood and Lungi Ngidi in the bowling department, with the experience of Imran Tahir making his inclusion a good move.

“I think Moeen Ali, they should get both their fast bowlers in Hazlewood and Lungi Ngidi. And if there is a little bit of turn, Imran Tahir. Dhoni-led CSK had recorded their worst-ever finish in the IPL last season. Since then, CSK have managed to bounce back quite remarkably as Dhoni’s men are placed second in the current league standings,” he added.

Manjrekar’s remarks on the game often controversial

The former Indian cricketer has usually been quite frank with his viewpoints, recently expressing his disagreement with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin being referred to as an all-time great. The cricketer-turned commentator highlighted his lack of five-wicket hauls in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) nations, as an area of concern. Manjrekar further stated that Ashwin makes his presence felt only on the spin-friendly wickets of India.

“When people start talking about him (Ashwin) as being one of the all-time greats of the game then I have a few problems,” he said on the ESPNcricinfo programme ‘Runorder’.

“One basic problem I have with Ashwin is that when you look at SENA countries, Ashwin doesn’t have a single five-wicket haul there. And the other thing when you talk about him running through sides on Indian pitches that are suited to his kind of bowling is that in the last four years, Jadeja has matched him with wicket-taking abilities. Then, interestingly, in the last series against England, Axar Patel got more wickets than Ashwin on similar pitches. So that is my problem with accepting Ashwin as a real all-time great,” added Manjrekar.

The cricketer-turned commentator received a counter-response from former Australian skipper Ian Chappell.

“I would like to make a couple of points there — if you look at Joel Garner, I mean how many five-wicket hauls Joel Garner has? Not many, when you consider how good he was and his record. And why, because he was performing with three other very, very fine players,” said Chappell.

“I think, particularly of late, I find that the Indian attack has been so strong that the wickets are being shared around more. And the other point I would make is because of Ashwin’s reputation I think the England players probably concentrated more on keeping Ashwin out and with Axar Patel, well, let’s be blunt about it, they didn’t have a bloody clue,” he added.