"I'm sure he would have continued to bat today" - Anil Kumble on Yashasvi Jaiswal retiring hurt on day 3 of IND vs ENG 3rd Test
Former Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble recently opined on Yashasvi Jaiswal's decision to retire hurt due to a back spasm on day 3 of the 3rd Test against England in Rajkot. The 132-Test veteran reckoned that it was the correct decision to go off.
Seven overs before the close, Jaiswal left the field with a struggling back spasm, with a physio coming and checking on him repeatedly. The southpaw was unbeaten on 104 before retiring hurt and added 155 runs with Shubman Gill to give India the upper hand in the Test.
Speaking to Jio Cinema, Kumble justified the decision by Jaiswal to leave the field. He said that it would have been a struggle for two batters to rotate the strike in such cases.
"Well, I don't think he could continue because he did try," Kumble said. "The physio came the first time and then he went back to bat. He tried again, but he couldn't. If he could manage, I'm sure he would have continued to bat today. It's just that, you know, he couldn't go on and it was affecting not just him."
"You don't want a situation where the other partner, which is Shubman Gill, gets out, because it can happen in a partnership like this, where your partner's unable to run and take those singles and then rotate strike," he added. "And then he's struggling. So I thought it was a good call from Yashasvi and also from the team management to just pull him back."
Yashasvi Jaiswal was 35 off 73 deliveries at one stage but raced to his second century of the series in only 122 deliveries. His century has helped India sit on top in the contest, leading by 322 runs with eight wickets in hand.
The left-hander had scored 209 in the first innings of the second Test in Vishakhapatnam. He is currently the highest run-scorer in the series with 435 runs at an average of 72.50.
"I think it was the right call" - Nick Knight echoes Anil Kumble's opinion
Former England cricketer Nick Knight agreed with Anil Kumble, stating that sometimes the management must tell the player to simply walk off. Knight added:
"It looked like he was trying to carry on, and it looked like the management was saying, don't. And sometimes, you know, we've all been there. It's tough to just to walk off. Sometimes you need to be hauled off. You need to be said, enough is enough. And I think that's what happened. In the end, I think it was the right call."
India ended Day 3 at 196/2, holding a lead of 322, with Gill and Kuldeep Yadav batting.