New Zealand chased down 284 successfully in second ODI in Rajkot.
His comments followed India's seven-wicket defeat to New Zealand in Rajkot, where the visitors easily chased down 285 to tie the series at one.
Jadeja is currently India's lone spin-bowling all-rounder in the XI after Washington Sundar was ruled out. Jadeja failed to perform when India most needed breakthroughs, returning wicketless, giving away 44 runs in eight overs. Srikkanth thought the veteran didn't seem to have many answers.
“Jadeja is one of my favorite players. But he does not seem to know what to do. He looks caught between attacking and giving the ball flight,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth made a strong case for Axar Patel's inclusion, questioning the rigid template around all-rounders.
“It is an open secret—why not bring Axar back? Why can't you play three spinners and three pacers? Is there a rule that the bowling all-rounder must be a medium pacer? It's impossible to replace Hardik Pandya. You can't. Axar would have been the ideal candidate today. The sixth bowler was missing. Axar has a terrific record. He did well in the Champions Trophy and won us the T20 World Cup. Suddenly, he is nowhere. Where is Axar Patel? The team is suffering at the end of the day,” he said.
Srikkanth also termed the Indian team’s bowling “very ordinary” apart from terrific new-ball spells from Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj. He also spoke about Nitish Reddy bowling only two overs.
“There is no option of a sixth bowler at all,” he said.
India captain Shubman Gill, meanwhile, cited the failure to take wickets in the middle overs as the decisive factor.