“Jaddu samajh ye T20 hai, idhar no balls allowed nahi” - Rohit Sharma cheekily tells Ravindra Jadeja after spinner’s no-balls on Day 2 of Rajkot Test

Team India captain Rohit Sharma cheekily told Ravindra Jadeja to bowl as if it was a T20 match after the left-arm spinner overstepped a couple of times on Day 2 of the Rajkot Test against England.

England made a strong start with the bat in the Rajkot Test after India posted 445 in the first innings. Opener Ben Duckett hammered a blazing hundred as the visitors went to stumps at 207/2 after 35 overs.

Even though Ravichandran Ashwin completed 500 Test wickets by dismissing Zak Crawley (15), Indian spinners struggled overall. Left-arm spinner Jadeja looked off-color in the few overs that he bowled and even overstepped twice in the 31st over of the innings.

Reacting to the same, Indian captain Rohit, known for his witty comments, was heard telling Jadeja:

"Jaddu samajh ye T20 hai, idhar no balls allowed nahi.” (Jaddu, think this is a T20, here no balls are not allowed.)

Jadeja bowled four overs for India on Day 2 of the Rajkot Test and conceded 33 runs without claiming a wicket. He had earlier scored a hundred with the bat in India’s first innings.

Meanwhile, England lost overnight batter Joe Root for 18 on Day 3 of the Rajkot Test. The former skipper attempted a reverse lap off Jasprit Bumrah but ended up miscuing the stroke and was caught smartly by Yashasvi Jaiswal at second slip. Root is having a horror tour of India. He registered scores of 29, 2, 5, and 16 in the first two Tests.

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India will bank on Ravindra Jadeja in Ravichandran Ashwin’s absence

Meanwhile, there will be additional responsibility on left-arm spinner Jadeja to deliver with the ball in Ashwin’s absence. The latter has pulled out of the Rajkot Test due to a family medical emergency and will not take any further part in the match.

While the BCCI did not give any specific details of the emergency, the board’s Vice President Rajeev Shukla put out a post on his X handle and wrote:

“Wishing speedy recovery of mother of @ashwinravi99. He has to rush and leave Rajkot test to Chennai to be with his mother. @BCCI."

India went into the Rajkot Test with three spinners - Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav - leaving out all-rounder Axar Patel. Kuldeep stuck early on Day 3 for India, trapping Jonny Bairstow lbw for a duck.