‘Need to understand that players have families. When they read such comments…’: Jadeja’s warning for Rohit and Dravid

Team India endured a disappointing outing in the 2022 Asia Cup, where the side bowed out in the Super 4 stage.

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team faced successive defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the second round, and questions were raised over India’s consistent experimentations with the playing XI throughout this time.

In fact, captain Rohit had even said after the loss against Sri Lanka that the side is still trying to “find answers” over the team combination – a comment that didn’t sit down well with a number of former cricketers including Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar.

Noted former India star Ajay Jadeja also spoke in detail about the side’s “chopping and changes” of late, stating that it is important to have some stability. Jadeja also said that both, the captain and the coach need to be on the same line when it comes to speaking publicly.

“You have to continue the process. If you keep chopping and changing after every result, the confusion will be there, which is quite an old thing with Indian cricket. That can be avoided. I know there will be coordination between the captain and coach, but it’s important to have that even in front of the press,” Jadeja said on Cricbuzz.

“It isn’t as if we weren’t the captain or we didn’t do press conferences. Sometimes, you have to say certain things in press conference because they might be important. But your team knows why exactly it was said. Your internal conversations with the team should be strong, and there should be no need to justify those things in front of the press.”

Jadeja further stated that statements over trying out different combinations might have a negative impact over budding cricketers in the side, and insisted that such comments should be made and discussed about inside the team.

“Wins and losses are part of the game, but there shouldn’t be any confusion over team combinations. There shouldn’t be statements about “trying out things” and other similar remarks. You need to understand that these are players and they have families. When they read them… such things do pop up at a certain point of time. In front of media, both captains and coach should be consistent with their statements. Inside, you can debate as much as you want,” said the former India star.