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Team India positioned itself well to claim a win in Manchester to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing 5-match T20I series against England until Ravi Bishnoi came to deliver the 17th over against England’s well-set batter Jacob Bethell.
Ahead of the 17th over, England was 142 for 5, and they needed to score 49 runs in the remaining four overs of the second innings. That over of Bishnoi changed the whole momentum of the contest as he offered 29 runs from it.
Wasim Jaffer points out the actual issue with Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling
Ravi Bishnoi started the over with a no-ball as he cut the return crease with his back foot. A ball later, the spinner did the same mistake again and the umpire called for another no-ball. Jacob Bethlle, who was on strike, capitalized on the opportunity by smashing three 6s and one 4 in that over.
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer points out Ravi Bishnoi’s mistake, which arguably cost India the match. Jaffer observes that the spinner tried to bowl a lot quicker, around 100kph. At that pace, there was not much spin to trick the batter. So, as there was very negligible turn on the ball at a pace of around 100 koh, batters found it easy to smack the ball off Ravi Bishnoi.
“I mean, I feel that once batters get used to Ravi Bishnoi, it becomes easier to face him. He bowls at almost 100 km/h, and at that pace, his leg-spin doesn’t turn a great deal. Most of the time, it’s either a topspinner or he’s trying something different, but eventually there’s a certain pace to his bowling. He also bowls the googly, but it seems that batters have started to figure out how to play him,” Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
Rajasthan Royals benched Ravi Bishnoi in IPL 2026
Jaffer mentions that during IPL 2026, Rajasthan Royals also did not show enough trust in the talented spinner. For most of the tournament, the franchise relied on Yash Raj Punja for spin bowling.
“We saw this in the IPL as well. Rajasthan Royals didn’t play him much. They gave him opportunities in the initial matches, and he did reasonably well, but after that they left him out and played Yash Raj Punja instead.”
“So, I think Bishnoi needs to make a few changes to his game if he wants to remain successful. Otherwise, if he continues to bowl at the same pace and batters get accustomed to him, it becomes quite easy for them to face him,” the former cricketer added.
Wasim Jaffer asks Team India to explore some other talents
Wasim Jaffer highlights that in the lead-up to the 2027 ODI World Cup, the Indian team management wants to explore the unexplored talents. Ravi is one of the team. But some other leg-spinners can be contenders to make their debut for the national cricket team in the T20I format.
“Looking at the IPL, India has plenty of bowling options. Kuldeep Yadav isn’t part of this team. We also saw Shivang Kumar perform well for Sunrisers, so there are alternatives available. It’s not as if India doesn’t have options,” Jaffer said in his YouTube video.
