Former Indian wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta has backed Ravindra Jadeja to play a crucial role in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Jadeja was rested for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan but he has returned to the 15-man squad.

The all-rounder has all the experience under his belt and he is going to lead the spin attack, which has spinners like Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain.

Jadeja has played in Sri Lanka before and he would look to make the most of his experience. The left-arm orthodox spinner has scalped 348 wickets in his glorious Test career.

“If we talk about experience, it is the first Test series in Sri Lanka for many of the players, but Jadeja, he has played here before. Even on spin-friendly pitches, it is not as if you come in and just bowl and you will get wickets. Even there, you have to find the right speed, line, and length. So, he will know that because he has played there before. His experience playing in Sri Lanka and how he guides new bowlers will be important,” Deep Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.

The former Bengal cricketer recalled that the current head coach Gautam Gambhir was himself a good batter against the spinners and he should be able to guide the batters on the right path.

“This is not a practice session before the series or a Test, this is camp practice, like a proper practice session. Gautam himself was a good player of spin. If you look at the last 10-15 years, or even this century, he has been one of the better players of spin. So, I think it is good that the players will get some time to spend with him. He will be able to tell about his experiences and techniques during this camp,” Dasgupta said.

The first Test match between India and Sri Lanka will be played at Galle from August 15 onwards.