“I mean, there are so many expectations from those two,” Rohit said about Ashwin and Jadeja. “Every single match they play they are expected to take a wicket, they are expected to run through the team and they are expected to win a Test match for us. I don’t think that is fair, not just to those two guys but to us. I am confident that we will win the Test match.”
Jadeja also struggled to counter New Zealand’s aggressive approach. For example, despite India scoring short threes and deep points, Devon Conway continued to sweep and back-sweep the offensive enterprise. These shots not only played havoc with the line and length of the senior spinner but also the field set by Rohit.
Rohit refused to read too much into these numbers and said it was only natural that Ashwin and Jadeja would also get an off day.
“Of course, by their standards, they know where they are, what they couldn’t do, what they didn’t do right,” Rohit said. “But again, both of them have played a lot of cricket here and have contributed greatly to achieving a home record (wins) of 18 consecutive series. These two have played a major role in that. Both series, I think especially those two. I won’t look into it too much.
“They know exactly what’s going on and sometimes they’re allowed to have a bad performance here and there but they don’t follow the expectation that this is my opportunity to take a wicket and get through the opposition. That’s not going to happen every time. So be prepared to get involved with other people. It must also be done.”
Rohit also opposed putting too much pressure on Ashwin and Jadeja and urged them to share the responsibility with other spinners.
“As we keep telling our batsmen, it is not the responsibility of a few individuals but a collective batting unit that needs to come together,” Rohit said. “So, the same goes for the bowling team. If Ash doesn’t do well, it’s Jadeja or Washy (Washington Sundar), Kuldeep (Yadav) or Axar (Patel) who should come to the party.”
“Washy played a great game, I’m really proud of him,” said Rohit. “He’s proud of it and we’re happy with his performance. He bowled so well.”
