Ravindra Jadeja: 'England not a difficult team, India just need to get used to their aggressive style'

Ravindra Jadeja has played down the threat posed by Bazball-inspired England as India gear up for the third Test at Rajkot, staring Thursday.  The tour of India was seen as the toughest Test for Ben Stokes-captained England, but the Three Lions have given a good account of themselves so far, winning the first of the five-match series in Hyderabad despite giving away a 190-run lead in the first innings. Jasprit Bumrah and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brilliance helped India bounce back with a 106-run win at Visakhapatnam to level the series 1-1 as spinners and majority of the batters from the home team failed to shine. The confident start to the series has made England favourites for the trophy for a lot of experts and England fans, but Jadeja has refused to term the Brendon McCullum-coached side as “one of the most difficult teams”. He also added that India could have won the Hyderabad Test if not for “small mistakes”. “I won’t term England as (one of the most difficult) teams. It hasn’t been easy for other teams to come to India and win. They have an aggressive style of play. We need to get used to that and plan accordingly for them,” Jadeja said on the eve of the Rajkot Test. “If it wasn’t for small mistakes in the second innings of first Test, we wouldn’t have lost.” Talking about the Rajkot pitch, Jadeja suggested that it should assist the batters before offering turn. “Here the wicket is flat and hard, but depends on what they have prepared. Sometimes you get 37 wickets in three matches (days), but this wicket looks good. “Here the wicket behaves differently in every game. Sometimes it stays flat, sometimes it turns, sometimes it plays well for two days and then turns. I believe it will play well first and then slowly it will break and the ball will turn,” he added. Jadeja missed the second Test due to a hamstring injury which was the latest setback for the star all-rounder who has been struggling with injury issues over the last two years. He has missed international action at least five times since 2021. The 35-year-old said that injuries have been frustrating but he can’t hide himself on the field. “It is frustrating but the cricket has increased these days and that is at the back of the mind always. I can’t hide anywhere in the field, I am always on the hotspot in any format and that maybe the reason (for injuries), and the ball comes to me often," he said. “There is an expectation from the team that I take a good catch or field well and that’s good. I can work on my body more smartly and do it carefully and hope there will be no problem. But there is no guarantee." Jadeja added that he will have to have to take care of his body in a way that he can avoid injuries. “I would like to give my 100 per cent and save my body and keep away from diving when not required. That’s it. I don’t think about that too much because it (returning from injury) has happened before. “As the match progresses, the body will get used to with the flow and then it gets out of your mind that there was an injury. I will get into the rhythm in one or two days."