No-spin option cost India, says Manjrekar

Mumbai, December 18

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar feels India made a mistake in not including a frontline spinner in the second Test. He said the team management should take the blame for selections which have “backfired”

“Nathan Lyon is a great bowler, so we can’t assume that a (Ravindra) Jadeja would have been as effective (as him),” he said. “But India, I think, made an error in going with four seamers, specially (with) Umesh Yadav and not Bhuvneshwar Kumar,” Manjrekar said.

“If there was one spinner (in the team) there’s always cracks and roughs, especially with left-handed batsmen in the opposition, to exploit. Jadeja could have been of more use than the fourth seamer,” he said.

“So, it was a selection error that may have also contributed to India eventually losing the match,” explained the 53-year-old. — PTI