“Ben Duckett is a headache for the Indian team” - Irfan Pathan reveals the plan to dismiss England opener

Former Indian all-rounder and commentator Irfan Pathan has stated that the English opening batter Ben Duckett turned out to be a headache for the Indian team in the Leeds Test, as he emerged as the player of the match.

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While Duckett scored an exceptional half-century in the first innings, he went on to smash a beautiful match-winning 149-run knock in the second innings, which helped England to go past the 371-run target in the fourth innings.

"What will be the Indian team's plan against their most dangerous player, Ben Duckett? He has scored more than 500 Test runs against India. He is a headache for the Indian team. The best thing I liked about him was the way he played Bumrah and Jadeja. The Indian team needs to take his wicket," Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Pathan also asserted the plan to dismiss the English opener. He also stated that the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s role would be very important in the Birmingham Test for India to enhance its winning chances.

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"What can be the plan against him? From start to finish, until his innings lasts, bowl only to him. Ask him to keep hitting towards mid-off and mid-on, and the bowlers' aim should be to get him out lbw. If you keep bowling that length, and Arshdeep plays, he can get the outside edge as well," he added.

"Jadeja's role will be very important, but he will have to increase his stature in terms of performance. He picked up only four wickets in Australia in three Test matches. He didn't get wickets in two innings. In the home series that we lost against New Zealand, the New Zealand spinners bowled better than the Indian spinners, and Jadeja was there," he stated.

"So Jadeja will have to do better. Even in batting, he will have to show aggression while batting with the tail, which, I feel, he is unable to do at times. You will also have to pay a lot of attention to catching. You need to take catches, as catches win matches," Pathan concluded.

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