Virender Sehwag explains why Ravindra Jadeja was sent ahead of Ajinkya Rahane in The Oval Test

The Indian cricket team sprung a surprise on Day 1 of the 4th Test match against England at the Kennington Oval. Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja walked out to bat ahead of the experienced Ajinkya Rahane at No.5.

And now, former Indian batting legend Virender Sehwag has explained why the Indian side indulged in the tactic. Stating that it might have been a step taken to force the England bowlers off guard by sending in a left-hander, Sehwag added that it is just a one-off event.

The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ further reckoned that the conditions were favouring swing, and the Indian side indulged in this tactic as the right-handed batsmen were troubled by the movement.

“Maybe it was step taken to force the England bowlers to alter their line and length against a left-hander. And if the reason is something else then it’s not a good sign for India. It could be just one of the matches when Jadeja was promoted up and sent in to bat ahead of Ajinkya Rahane. The conditions are favouring swing and troubling the right-handers, so send in Jadeja at No. 5; which we usually see in the shorter formats. The right-hand and left-hand combination often troubles a bowler, so may be to introduce that format in Tests as well,” said Virender Sehwag as quoted by The Hindustan Times.

Even when I was not scoring runs, I was sent to bat in the middle order: Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag also added that during India’s 2003-04 tour to Australia, Sachin Tendulkar was not amongst the runs, and as a result, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly had shifted Tendulkar’s position from No.4 to No.5.

Sehwag added that even he has been asked to bat in the middle order when he was not scoring runs as an opener for India. The 42-year-old Sehwag concluded by stating that once he started scoring runs he was back to batting at the top of the order.

“I remember, Tendulkar wasn’t getting runs in the 2004 tour of Australia. So, Sourav Ganguly changed his position from No. 4 to 5 and he himself batted at No.4. It happens sometimes that when you are getting out regularly while batting at a similar position then such changes are made. Even when I wasn’t scoring as an opener, I was sent to bat in the middle order. When I found my rhythm back, I was back on top of the order. So that could be a possible reason for the change,” signed off Sehwag.