Indian national cricket team captain Rohit Sharma defended star all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin after they failed to perform in the first two Test matches of the ongoing series against the New Zealand national cricket team .

Rohit Sharma said that there are “too many expectations” of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to fulfill in every match, which is quite unfair for the all-rounders.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja failed in the first two Tests against New Zealand

The duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja has undoubtedly been the main reason behind the Indian team’s dominance in the home Test series.

Ashwin and Jadeja have delivered one after another impressive performances with both bat and ball to surprise visiting teams in India. However, they were quite ineffective in the first two Tests against New Zealand, resulting in India losing their first home Test series since the 2012-13 season.

In the first Test in Bengaluru against the Kiwis, Ashwin took one wicket while Jadeja took three wickets. With the bat, Ashwin recorded 0 and 15 and Jadeja recorded 0 and 5.

When the Test moved to Pune, it was expected that the duo would return to form, but that once again did not happen. Ashwin got 5 wickets and Jadeja only 3. With the bat, Ashwin (4 and 18) and Jadeja (38 and 42) were also not at their best.

There are too many expectations on those two boys – Rohit Sharma

In the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma said that Ashwin and Jadeja have set high standards for themselves so they have to deal with the burden of high expectations. Rohit Sharma explained:

“There are too many expectations on those two guys. In every match they play, they are expected to take wickets, run for the team and win Test matches for us. I don’t think that’s fair.

“It’s the responsibility of all of us to make sure we get wins in the trials, not just the two guys. Of course, by their standards, they know where they stand and what they haven’t been able to do or what they haven’t done really well.

“But again, they have both played a lot of cricket here and have contributed hugely to our success of having that home run of 18 series. These two have played an important role in that…”

Rohit Sharma further said that Ashwin and Jadeja are allowed to have bad days and it wouldn’t happen every time.

“They know exactly what is going on and sometimes they are allowed to have a few bad games here and there and not live up to the expectation that this is the opportunity for me to take wickets and get through the opposition. That’s not always going to happen. So you have to be ready along with the other guys to step in,” Rohit Sharma added.

If Ash isn’t doing well, it’s Jadeja who needs to come to the party – Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma further spoke about the need for players to shoot as a unit as anyone can be in a bad mood on a particular day. He explained:

“As we continue to talk to batsmen, it is not the responsibility of a few individuals, it is the collective batting unit that needs to come together. The same goes for the bowling unit.

“If Ash doesn’t do well, it’s Jadeja who needs to come to the party or Washy or Kuldeep or Axar, those guys. That’s why we have to share it among everyone,” he said.

“Washy played a great game, I’m very proud of it. He is proud of it and we are happy with his performance. He played so well…”

Rohit Sharma concluded by saying that Ashwin and Jadeja have amassed over 800 wickets together in Test cricket and are aware of the things they need to do to shine again. He elaborated:

“But again, we are talking about someone who is taking 500 wickets and 300 wickets respectively. So, you know exactly how they got those wickets and how each time they went out and won Test matches for us.

“So it’s very difficult for them to have that expectation every time they turn up that they need to take wickets for us. It may happen, it may happen that things do not go well for them, but that is the time when others must step in and take on that additional responsibility…”