'If Jadeja had even 40 per cent of Stokes' belief...': Ravi Shastri slams India all-rounder in brutal comparison

Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri drew a brutal comparison between Ravindra Jadeja and Ben Stokes ahead of the fourth Test of the series which is set to commence from July 23. This comes after Jadeja failed to take the Men in Blue to victory even though he formed valiant partnerships with tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Jadeja's unbeaten knock of 61 runs from 181 deliveries didn't prove to be enough as the Men in Blue got bundled out for only 170 runs and fell 22 runs short of the target of 193. Though the all-rounder gave a fantastic effort, it didn't end up being enough and the hosts took a valuable 2-1 lead in the series heading into the fourth match.

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Shastri wasn't quite satisfied with Jadeja's knock and was even heard telling the 36-year-old to take more risk and try to hit a few big shots while sitting in the commentary box. The former India cricketer compared Jadeja to Stokes, stating the former doesn't have nearly as much belief as the latter. He pointed out how despite having three trip[le-hundreds in first-class cricket, Jadeja took a lot of time in realizing his potential with the bat.

Stokes gave a fantastic all-round performance in third Test

This comparison came after Stokes had put in a brilliant all-round performance in the Lord's Test. The England captain recorded scores of 44 and 33 in the first and second innings respectively and even picked up five important wickets during the match. This led to him being adjudged as the Player of the Match.

"If Jadeja has even 40 percent of the belief of Stokes, he will win you more matches. Because there is no doubt about his talent. It’s just that he has to go and take charge. If he believes he can take charge, he can do it. He’s got three triple-hundreds in First-Class cricket. It took him a long time. Three only. And it took him ages to realise that he has batting potential," Shastri said on The Overlap podcast.

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Meanwhile, it is crucial for Shubman Gill & Co. to come out victorious at Old Trafford as any other result would see them lose out all their chances of winning the series. On the other hand, a win for England would see them seal the series even before playing the fifth and final match.