"Rishabh Pant wasn't present with you at No. 5" - Sanjay Bangar lauds star player's performances in IND vs WI 2025 Tests

Former India player Sanjay Bangar has lauded Ravindra Jadeja's performances in the recently concluded Test series against the West Indies. He noted that the spin-bowling all-rounder ensured that Rishabh Pant's absence wasn't felt.

India beat the West Indies by seven wickets in Delhi on Tuesday (October 14) to win the two-match series 2-0. Jadeja was awarded the Player of the Series for his all-round performances.

During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues,' Bangar was asked about his thoughts on Jadeja's 'Player of the Series' performances against the Windies.

"Rishabh Pant wasn't present with you at No. 5. He didn't make you feel that Rishabh Pant wasn't there because of the way he batted at No. 6. He has always been an incredible batter. However, the promotion he is getting now and the chances he is getting to bat, he is taking advantage of them," he responded.

The former India all-rounder added that the 36-year-old is making the most of the opportunities he is getting to bat up the order.

"His record in first-class cricket is incredible. It was just a matter of time before he would have gotten enough opportunities due to which his talent would come to the fore even more. He has batted well on overseas tours at No. 6 and No. 7, and his performance was incredible even on the England tour. So an excellent series for him, where he got the Man of the Series one more time," Bangar observed.

Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 104 off 176 deliveries in his only innings in the Test series against the West Indies. The left-arm spinner also picked up eight wickets at an average of 27.13 in four innings.

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"He had to work hard" - Sanjay Bangar lauds Kuldeep Yadav's performance in IND vs WI 2025 2nd Test

Kuldeep Yadav picked up eight wickets in the second Test against the West Indies. [P/C: BCCI/X]

In the same interaction, Sanjay Bangar was asked about Kuldeep Yadav's 'Player of the Match' performance in the second Test against the West Indies.

"These Test matches were played on two different surfaces. One was a red-soil pitch, and when the match happened in Delhi, it was a slightly slow pitch with low bounce, and he had to work hard. He even said that he had to quicken his arm speed a little," he replied.

The former India batting coach added that the left-arm wrist-spinner would have gained a lot of confidence from his penetrative and long spells in the Delhi Test.

"He is an unusual kind of spinner. If we look at the Test cricket history, he is the first left-arm wrist-spinner to be so successful in terms of five-wicket hauls. Paul Adams used to bowl like this for South Africa. He would have got confidence in himself that he can bowl 60 overs in a Test and penetratively," Bangar observed.

To conclude, Sanjay Bangar opined that the selectors and team management would think that Kuldeep Yadav should be their primary spinner, even outside India. He added that India will win more Tests if that happens.

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Edited by Kartik Iyer