Former Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble questioned Ravindra Jadeja’s sedate approach on the final day of the third Test match against England at Lord’s. Jadeja scored 61 runs off 181 balls on the last day of the Test match in the run-chase of 193.

But the left-hander’s valiant effort with the bat went in vain as India suffered a 22-run loss. The southpaw added 30, 35 and 23 with Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj respectively to keep India alive but it was not enough in the end.

Kumble feels Jadeja could have been a more proactive against the England spin duo of Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir as the track wasn’t turning square.

Anil Kumble said via NDTV, “The two bowlers he could have potentially taken on were Chris Woakes, who is slightly slower in the air, and then Bashir and Joe Root. I know they’re off-spinners taking the ball away, but it wasn’t turning square. So there wasn’t a lot to worry about in terms of spin or the outside edge. Jadeja has played on tougher pitches and against better bowling. I thought he could have taken a chance.”

“You want to take those risks. Yes, there were a few runs he rightly declined because Bumrah and Siraj were at the other end, but he could have chanced it a bit more.”

On the other hand, legendary Sunil Gavaskar defended Jadeja’s watchful approach on the final day as he was batting with the tailenders after lunch break.

“I think it was dictated by the fact that he was batting with the lower-order batters. He was trying to farm the strike as much as possible. Also, at that stage, you’re wary of playing aerial shots on that kind of pitch. And the Indian team tends to take the game deep – that’s what he was aiming for,” said Gavaskar.

The fourth Test match between England and India will be played at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, from July 23 onwards.