New Delhi, Oct 14: Star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Tuesday said that moving up to number six in the line-up has helped him think “more as a proper batter”, crediting head coach Gautam Gambhir for the change that he feels has brought the best out of him.
Jadeja was adjudged player of the series for his all-round performance in the two-Test rubber against the West Indies that India swept with a seven-wicket triumph in the second game here on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old picked up eight wickets and struck a 104-run knock in the opening game in Ahmedabad.
“I think we know what brand of cricket we’ve been playing over the last five, six months. So, that’s a good sign as a team, that we continue to do it over a long period of time,” Jadeja said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“As Gauti bhai (Gambhir) said, I am at number six now. So I am thinking more as a proper batsman, and that works for me. In the past, for many years, I’ve been batting at number eight, number nine, so my mindset was a little different from what I have now,” he added.
Jadeja said he doesn’t think too much about records but is always conscious of performing strongly with both bat and ball to justify his role in the team.
“…we’ve been doing wonderful work as a team, in terms of batting and bowling. I am just trying to spend more time in the middle whenever I get a chance to bat. To be honest, I don’t think too much about records.
“I just focus on contributing with both bat and ball to help my team win. I always look forward to do that. I feel if I don’t perform with bat and ball, then it doesn’t reflect my value as a player,” he said.
Player of the match Kuldeep Yadav, who picked up eight wickets in the game, said bowling long spells was a challenge on an unresponsive track.
“This was a totally different wicket. Bowling a lot of overs was the challenge here, I enjoyed bowling here. There wasn’t any drift here. The wicket was too dry. Bowling lot of overs and getting the breakthrough is something I enjoy a lot,” he said. (PTI)
