Star Australian batsman Steve Smith heaped praise on India’s spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, describing him as a difficult bowler to face in the subcontinent.
“Jadeja in the sub-continent… why he is so good because, he hits that good length and one ball skids on and one spins, and it just all looks same out of the hand. I think consistency in length is key and then having at least one variation,” he said.
“So, I think for a leg-spinner, having a good googly, or a slider is crucial and for fingers spinners, being able to change the pace without changing the arms speed too much. I reckon there a few around the world who do that, Jadeja is one of them. He is very difficult to play.”
Smith took over the captaincy from Ajinkya Rahane mid-season in the last edition of the IPL and he is keen to lead the Rajasthan Royals from the beginning if the cash-rich event, which has been suspended till April 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is held later in the year.
“Plenty going on in the world at present, but hopefully we can get an IPL at some stage,” said Smith, who has so far amassed 7227 runs in 73 Tests and 4162 runs in ODIs.
“The two seasons that I captained the Royals were both half seasons, Shane Watson gave me the captaincy in 2015 and then last year out of the blue, I took over at the back end of the season. Looking at having a crack at it full time and the Royals have a pretty good squad,” he said.
Smith started his career as a spinner before emerging as one of the best batsmen in the world.
Talking about his career, the 30-year-old said: “I was more of a batsman than a bowler. I played my first two Test matches as a specialist spinner which was strange. They were looking for a spinner after the Shane Warne era and I was one of the 12-13 spinners that got a go.
