Follow UsRavindra Jadeja is India’s most reliable Test batter in SENA countries, but he doesn’t know how to bat with the tail. He can survive at the crease and support a partner - but lacks the urgency to shift gears when needed. His batting is often too defensive in pressure situations.
Jadeja is currently the best all-rounder in world cricket. He can’t be India’s frontline bowling option in SENA. He is not a wicket-taking spinner in those conditions.
These are some of the recurring narratives used to define Jadeja as a Test cricketer - particularly when India are playing outside Asia. And to be honest, there’s truth to most of them. They came into even sharper focus after India’s narrow defeat in the third Test of the five-match series against England at Lord’s.
Having scored four consecutive fifties, the 36-year-old has been in sublime form with the bat in England. At Lord’s, India were chasing a modest target of 193 but collapsed to 82 for 7. Jadeja stood firm and put up a tremendous fight with an unbeaten 61 off 181. However, he couldn’t take India across the line, as England snatched a 22-run win to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
India’s last three batters - Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj - batted for four hours, facing a total of 137 deliveries. While Jadeja was widely praised for his resilience and determination, he also faced sharp criticism for not showing enough intent. Many felt the lower order had done their part - and that it was up to Jadeja to finish the chase and seal the win for India, which didn’t happen.
With Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and R Ashwin now retired from Test cricket, Jadeja stands as the most experienced player in a team undergoing transition. The all-rounder has the fitness and form to last another World Test Championship (WTC) cycle comfortably, but for India to truly benefit, they’ll need to find a way to maximise his impact.
So, how much truth do those statements hold, and what can India do to bring the best out of Jadeja? It’s time to take a closer look at each of those narratives, and explore the tactical and personnel changes India could consider - not just for the remainder of the England series, but for the entire 2025-27 WTC cycle.
How good Jadeja’s batting is in SENA?
Statistically, Jadeja has been one of India’s best red-ball batters in SENA nations since 2018. His average of 40.25 is the third-best for India in these conditions after Shubman Gill (43.12) and Rishabh Pant (41.29). However, Gill’s numbers are boosted by a stellar run in the current England series, where he has posted 147, 269, and 161.
More importantly, Jadeja has outperformed big names like Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rohit in SENA. He has the second-best balls/dismissal (81.1) behind Pujara (96.7) among Indians with 500+ runs during this period. Across 20 Tests, he has scored 1127 runs with 10 fifty-plus scores - many of them under pressure.
In the ongoing series alone, Jadeja has 327 runs in six innings at an average of 109, with four 50+ scores. Only he and Pant have managed that many. The lack of a century might’ve been solved if India had tailenders who could bat.
Does Jadeja really struggle to bat with the tail?
Jadeja has remained unbeaten three times in the ongoing series - twice in innings where India were bowled out. In the second innings of the first Test at Headingley, he watched Shardul Thakur, Siraj, and Bumrah fall within a single over. The last wicket pairing of Jadeja and Prasidh Krishna did survive for 5.2 overs, with the former scoring 15 off 21 in this period.
When batting with the tail, Jadeja follows a risk-averse pattern: defend the first three balls unless it’s a clear scoring opportunity, try to take a single off the fourth or fifth, and leave the lower-order batter with one or two deliveries. This method often allows the opposition to control the game, which England captain Ben Stokes did effectively at Lord’s with a spread-out field.
In the fourth innings of the third Test, India were 112/8 when Reddy was dismissed. The target was still 81 runs away, with only Bumrah and Siraj left. In such situations, most batters would look to accelerate, knowing they can't rely on the tail to survive for long. Jadeja, however, stuck to his usual approach.
Once again, he absorbed deliveries without shifting pressure back onto England. While Bumrah and Siraj - who average around five with the bat - faced more than 80 balls between them, Jadeja added just 44 runs off 128 deliveries during their time at the crease. Despite the tailenders’ resistance, Jadeja couldn’t get the job done.
It’s fair to argue that attacking more could have led to an earlier dismissal, and aggression doesn’t come naturally to Jadeja. He has the best average (46.1) among 18 batters who’ve scored 1000+ runs at Nos. 6 and 7 since 2018. But at the same time, he also has the fourth-worst strike rate (51.8) and balls/boundary (17.3).
This strategy often goes unnoticed in the subcontinent, where India have at least two of Ashwin, Axar Patel, or Washington Sundar batting below Jadeja. All three are solid batters, with Axar and Ashwin even having the ability to score at a better pace. The problem surfaces in away Tests, where India play only one spinner and rely on seamers who offer little with the bat.
If Jadeja were part of a team like England or Australia, whose tailenders can bat and add runs, this approach wouldn’t attract the same level of scrutiny. But in India’s setup, particularly overseas, it sometimes becomes a concern.
Why Jadeja isn't suited for frontline bowling duties in SENA?
Jadeja is averaging over 100 - not just with the bat, but also with the ball - in the ongoing series. The left-arm spinner has bowled 99 overs and taken just three wickets at an average of 110.33. Since the start of the Australia tour, his bowling average stands at 78.4. In England, across 15 Tests, he averages 50.2 with the ball.
Among bowlers who have delivered at least 400 overs in SENA countries since 2020, Jadeja has the worst average (44.3) and the balls/dismissal (92.1). Even among Indian bowlers in this period, only Harshit Rana, who has played just two Tests, has a worse average. You don’t need to dive too deep to see that Jadeja is not a wicket-taking threat in these conditions.
In SENA, the Indian team management must view Jadeja as a specialist batter who can bowl economically when required - mainly to give the fast bowlers a breather.
How can India maximise Jadeja’s batting?
Jadeja is an old-school batter with an uncomplicated approach. He doesn’t have Pant’s flamboyance, nor does he possess the power of Harry Brook or Ben Stokes. But the 36-year-old is one of those stubborn, hard-to-dismiss batters who grind out runs. With Jadeja, you know exactly what to expect - consistency.
The only “problem” with his batting is the lack of urgency to shift gears when the situation demands it, especially when batting with the tail. That issue could potentially be addressed by pushing him up the order. Over 91% of his Test innings have come at No.6 to No.9 - but perhaps it’s time to give him a more prominent role at No.5.
Jadeja is no stranger to batting higher up in red-ball cricket. All three of his first-class triple centuries came at No.4, where he averages 92.2 from 16 innings. In his only Test innings at No.4, he smashed 40 off 32 balls. The numbers are compelling - but realistically, Gill is unlikely to relinquish his new No.4 spot and move to 3 or 5.
That brings us to Pant, who has completely owned the No.5 role - scoring 1717 runs in 31 innings at an average of 59.21 and a strike rate of 81.4. As the saying goes, don’t fix what isn’t broken. That holds for Pant individually - but perhaps not for the team. In overseas Tests, a switch with Jadeja at No.5 and Pant at No.6 might serve India better.
Jadeja has a solid record at No.5 in first-class cricket - 1602 runs at an average of 44.5, including five centuries, the most he has scored at any position. One of those came against England in Rajkot, when India were reduced to 33/3 inside nine overs. Though he has batted nine times at No.5 in Tests, most of those instances were due to left-right batting combinations rather than a fixed role.
Positioning him at No.5 would place him between two dynamic stroke-makers - Gill and Pant - providing stability in the middle order. Jadeja excels at soaking up pressure, occupying the crease, and preventing collapses - all qualities India could use more of in testing conditions.
This would drop Pant to No.6. The 27-year-old is far better equipped to bat with the tail than Jadeja. He has already scored over 900 runs at No.6 for India at an average of 36.64. Unlike Jadeja, Pant is naturally aggressive and has the 360-degree game to play with the field. He’s also a much stronger boundary-hitter - a key attribute when batting alongside tailenders.
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There’s no denying Pant and Jadeja have delivered at their usual spots. But shifting Jadeja to 5 and Pant to 6 in SENA might be the tweak India need. It’s a small gamble that could deliver massive returns.