"He said he won't be able to bowl in Tests once he gets into a bad habit" - Mohammad Kaif recalls Ravindra Jadeja refusing to add variations

Mohammad Kaif has lauded Ravindra Jadeja for sticking to his metronomic bowling action, which has yielded him rich dividends in Test cricket.

Jadeja registered figures of 7/42 as India bowled out Australia for a paltry 113 in the second innings of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Delhi on Sunday, February 19. Rohit Sharma and Co. then chased down the 115-run target with six wickets to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Kaif was asked about his thoughts on Ravindra Jadeja's second-innings spell, to which he responded:

"I was there with him in Gujarat Lions. I was the coach and he was a part of the team. I asked him to develop some variations, bowl carrom bowls or with a side arm, but he said he won't be able to bowl in Tests once he gets into a bad habit, so he won't change his action."

The former Indian batter highlighted that the left-arm spinner has always stuck to his strengths, elaborating:

"I am talking about more than five-six years back. He knew his strength is his action, his strength is that he walks leisurely in his run-up, his strength is his accuracy and to consistently bowl at one spot in Test matches and he has struck to that strength now as well."

Jadeja predominantly bowled a wicket-to-wicket line in the second innings in Delhi and let the pitch do the rest. Five of his victims were dismissed bowled, with Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb caught at leg-slip and slip respectively.

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"He doesn't go after flamboyance" - Mohammad Kaif on Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has an outstanding second-innings record with the ball in home conditions. [P/C: BCCI]

Kaif praised Ravindra Jadeja for not resorting to any gimmicks, stating:

"The seven wickets he took, he didn't make any changes to what he has been doing, bowled with the same mindset and picked up the Man of the Match award. It shows that he doesn't go after flamboyance."

The cricketer-turned-commentator also appreciated the Saurashtra all-rounder for not trying to copy Ravichandran Ashwin's approach with the ball, observing:

"Let the world do whatever they want to do. Ashwin tries, he bowls the knuckle-ball or carrom-ball, let him do that, he (Jadeja) knows what his strengths are. That is the fantastic thing about him."

Gautam Gambhir pointed out that there is nothing better than natural variation, which Jadeja gets because of his pace and accuracy. He added that Indian cricket is extremely lucky to have three all-rounders in the form of Axar Patel, Jadeja and Ashwin.