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On familiar ground, Jadeja faces some home truths
Ravindra Jadeja trains hard in Rajkot despite being dropped from ODIs, aiming to prove his worth ahead of the World Cup and maintain his place in the team.
Rajkot: Ravindra Jadeja did not have to grind it out on an optional pre-match training day on Tuesday, but he did. This was Rajkot after all, a place he calls home on the domestic circuit and where he is familiar with every blade of grass.
Long after the stands were empty, deep into the evening with floodlights beaming over the playing area, Jadeja practiced his bat swing, went through a power-hitting net session. This after having rolled his arm over for over an hour, until he was convinced he had found his landing area. With only the faithful super fans present, waving the tricolour in tandem, Jadeja was determined to persevere.
Other than Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the spin allrounder is among the old hands in the Indian team, still plying the trade. Used to playing in the shadows of the more illustrious run machines, people tend to forget that Jadeja has his own demons to conquer.
By far the most complete all-format allrounder Indian cricket has had over the past decade-and-a-half, Jadeja the ODI cricketer has to stay sharp to last another World Cup cycle. The selectors have given him a hint that they were looking to trial all options, by dropping the Saurashtra all-rounder from the Australia ODIs.
Axar Patel, who is hot on his heels, had played instead. And Axar is not auditioning in the same team as Jadeja because the selectors want the younger of the like-for-like spinners to stay fresh for the T20 World Cup.
“It’s a good thing they communicated the reason behind my omission,” Jadeja had said. “Whenever I get a chance next, I will try and do what I have done all these years. If I get a chance in the World Cup, and there are many ODIs before that. If I do well there, it will be a good thing for Indian cricket. Winning a World Cup is everyone’s dream.”
Jadeja still has a powerful throwing arm. His agility and fielding remain top notch. But since the Champions Trophy last year, in the nine ODIs he has played, Jadeja has only six wickets to show. With the bat, opportunities have been fewer, but the last time he hit a fifty to bring out the sword celebrations was way back in 2020.
It may be a measure of India’s top- and middle-order batting strengths, but if Jadeja’s returns come with a limit, the selectors could look for someone with more effective all-round skill sets. Besides, with the next World Cup to be played on true pitches in South Africa, finger spin will be more of a defensive option.
“I have to be very honest, I don’t think I am anyone to answer about any player’s future,” India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said about Jadeja. “I don’t think I should be talking about anything on that, but I will still tell you that he is fit, he is performing. And for anyone, as long as they are performing and enjoying the game, they would want to play and do well for India, and do well for the team.”
One could view it to be a minor dip, or a more concerning selection call. It is a call for the future, with no more ODIs scheduled for the next six months. Jadeja will continue to do what he knows best, keep giving the ball a rip with confidence, whom Shane Warne had discovered in IPL even before he became a household name.
In his 18th year of playing ODI cricket, what Jadeja does know is when it comes to big-game selection calls, there will be none to match his temperament. It’s now a matter of how the flamboyant Rajput can use his 208-match experience to his advantage.
