Ravindra Jadeja's suspension was an overreaction: Sunil Gavaskar

Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s one-match suspension was an overreaction from the umpires and the match referee. India won the 2nd Test match by an innings and 53 runs, Jadeja was adjudged the man of the match for his ninth 5-wicket haul and an impressive fifty during India’s inning.

The no. 1 all-rounder ended up with seven wickets in the match and has been a key player for the Indian team since the last season at home. He now won’t be a part of the Indian line up that will play Sri Lanka in the 3rd and final Test at Kandy.

Umpires overreacted

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Gavaskar said, “Jadeja’s one-match ban was over reaction from umpires and match referee. I’m very happy that ICC has been tightening up on all of these issues about the Code of Conduct on the field. But, I think this one was a bit of an overreaction.”.

Jadeja was seen taking a dig at the decision by posting a picture on the social media, which read “Hum sharif kya hue puri duniya hi badmash ho gayi,” his post read, which means: “The entire world has gone notorious when I decided to turn good”.

Praises for Cheteshwar Pujara

Gavaskar has also said that Cheteshwar Pujara is the backbone of the Indian Test side, just like former great Rahul Dravid. He also lauded the efforts of Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has been in prolific form and was retained for the 2nd Test, as Abhinav Mukund made way for KL Rahul. Gavaskar said that retaining Shikhar Dhawan for the second Test was justified as the left hander made a major impact, scoring a blistering 190 in the first innings of the Galle Test.

“Shikhar Dhawan has to play in the team. His innings in 1st Test was more impactful than Abhinav Mukund’s,”  concluded Gavaskar.