Ravindra Jadeja may have already played his last limited-overs match for India. The new team management under head coach Gautam Gambhir and the selectors have decided to move on from the star all-rounder, who was the third big name after Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma to call time on his T20I career after the World Cup win in the Americas last month.
Jadeja was not named in India’s squad for the three-match ODI series that included captain Rohit Sharma and Kohli. Apart from Jadeja, Bumrah and Hardik Pandya were the other big names missing the team that ended India’s more than decade-long drought for an ICC trophy. But Jadeja’s case is different from that of Bumrah.
Those in the know claim Bumrah was given a break because the selectors didn’t want to burn out India’s best all-format bowler, while Hardik requested a break for personal reasons. Even Rohit and Kohli had asked for breaks from the entire Sri Lanka series, but Gambhir wanted his big players available for the ODIs to chalk out a roadmap.
The same was not the case with Jadeja. The veteran of 197 ODIs is no longer in the white-ball scheme of things. “There are only six ODIs, including the three in Sri Lanka, before next year’s Champions Trophy. The selectors want to utilise the handful of games by giving more opportunities to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar,” a BCCI source told Hindustan Times.
Jadeja has been an integral part of India’s ODI set-up for over a decade. Since his debut in 2009, India have played 354 ODIs, with Jadeja featuring 197 of those. That’s 55.6% of matches. He featured in every match of India’s ODI World Cup campaign at home last year. Apart from the injury break or workload management due to the stress of being a three-format player, Jadeja has always been one of the first ticks on the teamsheets.
There can be no complaints about Jadeja’s performance. In 44 matches since the 2019 World Cup, he has scored 644 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 84. With the ball, he took 44 wickets at an average of 37, with an economy rate of 4.9. That is as good as it gets from an all-rounder in the 50-over cricket. Add Jadeja’s fielding to the mix and you get what one can call a dream cricketer.
“Nothing wrong with Jadeja’s performance. The management just wants to look at other options as we have to build a team for the future,” the source added.
Time for Axar Patel to stand up
It’s about time Axar Patel gets his due. He has been Jadeja’s understudy for far too long in all formats. It was only in the T20 World Cup that Rohit gave a clear indication of preferring Axar over Jadeja, both as a batter and a bowler. In many ways, Axar’s growth trajectory has been similar to Jadeja’s. Promising all-rounders from the same region who made more impact with their left-arm spin-bowling than batting in the initial stages but slowly showed their prowess with the willow.
Axar, however, has nudged ahead of Jadeja as a batter. He was used as a floater in T20Is many times in the last couple of years, even when Jadeja was there in the XI. The knock he played in the final against South Africa was one of the turning points of the Indian innings after they lost three quick wickets in the powerplay. His ability to bowl during field restrictions also gives him the edge.
The team management believes Axar is better suited in every condition.
Jadeja confirmed in Tests but no dearth of options of ODIs
Another reason for the selectors looking beyond Jadeja is the availability of quality spin-bowling all-rounders. Unlike Hardik or Bumrah, Jadeja is not irreplaceable. There is Axar and then the likes of Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed waiting in the wings.
Sundar is likely to be the second-choice spin-bowling all-rounder in ODIs and T20Is provided he maintains his fitness. He has already proven himself as a bowler and showed glimpses of his batting even in overseas conditions.
This, however, doesn’t mean that Jadeja’s road in the Indian team is over. He will continue to be an integral part of the Test side. “Jadeja is outstanding in Test cricket. His bowling in home conditions is unmatchable. He will be important for India’s World Test Championship bid,” the source added.
