"The big takeaway for me" - Sanjay Manjrekar mighty impressed with India's bowling in England Tests
Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out India's brilliant performance with the ball as a big takeaway from the recently concluded five-match Test series against England.
Manjrekar highlighted how youngsters like Kuldeep Yadav and Akash Deep made a significant impact with their bowling exploits. He opined that all of the Indian bowlers creating relentless pressure on English batters was one of the main reasons behind the series' victory.
Heaping praise on India's bowling unit after the Men in Blue's 4-1 series victory over England, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo:
"The big takeaway for me looking at Indian cricket in the long-term point of view is India's bowling. The arrival of Kuldeep Yadav, and Akash Deep in that last Test match. Now, when you look at the England batting failure and relentless pressure, when you have five bowlers of the likes of Bumrah, Akash Deep in the last Test, Siraj here, and then three spinners, where Kuldeep Yadav has made such rapid strides, there's just no getaway for a team that has been struggling with consistent form."
India bundled out England for 218 and 195 in the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala to win by an innings and 64 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin picked up nine wickets in the clash, while Kuldeep Yadav bagged seven scalps.
"Let's wait a little longer" - Sanjay Manjrekar on the future of young Indian batters
The likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, and Dhruv Jurel shone with the bat against England in their debut Test series. Sanjay Manjrekar, however, believes that the biggest test for these guys will be the overseas tours.
He mentioned that the performances of the youngsters in countries like Australia and England will decide their future in the Indian team. He added:
"For me, it is still about these batters, having shown the potential to get big runs at the Test level, very keen to play at the Test level, which is a great sign. Sarfaraz as well, Dhruv Jurel, has some great foundation, so that's an exciting talent out there. But let's wait a little longer. Let these guys play in Australia, England and other places, and then we'll see who are the long-term batters that India will rely on who will take the baton from the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Cheteshwar Pujara."
Yashasvi Jaiswal was named Player of the Series. The southpaw finished as the leading run-getter of the series, chalking up 712 runs across nine innings.