Ravindra Jadeja’s future in international cricket could well have suffered a setback had he stuttered on the England tour last year. He didn’t have a great series with the ball, only seven wickets from five Tests.
But with the bat, the left-arm spinner all-rounder’s tally of 516 runs at an average of 86 was almost as important as the contributions of Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj to help India draw the series 2-2.
Importantly, the weight of Jadeja’s numbers with the bat was heavy enough to shut all talk down over his future.
For Tests, few will question his place in the side even though India suffered an
embarrassing 0-2 sweep against South Africa at home in November.
But given his recent performance in ODIs, murmurs may well resume. Particularly due to his show with the ball, as he has just one wicket from his last five ODI appearances, returning to the 50-
over side against the Proteas after not being considered for the one-dayers in Australia last October.
The solitary wicket aside, Jadeja has conceded 257 runs off 42 overs from these five matches, which reflects how expensive he has been.
With over 20 months remaining for next year’s ODI World Cup, it’s still too early to say that the 37-year-old’s place in the team is in doubt for the 50-over showpiece. However, there’s the consistent Axar Patel breathing down his
neck, while young Vidarbha cricketer Harsh Dubey’s impressive figures with left-arm spin and batting gradually brighten his case too.
So far as the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, currently locked 1-1, is concerned, the services of Jadeja’s left-arm spin, too, is essential in the decider in Indore on Sunday. The visitors’ batting group is quite strong too, even without Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra and Tom Latham in the ranks.
In pressure, a little bit of heat is certainly on Jadeja, especially as he remains wicketless so far in the series. On Wednesday, at his home ground in Rajkot, on a track with a decent amount of purchase for the spinners and not too much dew, Jadeja couldn’t strike in his eight overs. He gave away 44 runs. However, if he comes up with a game-changing spell in Indore, he can again cast the doubts away.
“The ODI World Cup is still a long way away. To speak of Axar, if he does well in this T20 World Cup, his prospects of being considered for the Cup next year should brighten. But as far as Jadeja is concerned, he has to perform in the coming games. It’s as simple as that,” a BCCI official told The Telegraph on Thursday.
Except the Rajkot pitch, the extremely placid nature of the other wickets where
India played since the South Africa series has also made Jadeja and the other bowlers’ jobs harder.
“The pitches in Ranchi, Raipur, Visakhapatnam (during the ODIs versus Proteas) and Vadodara (in the first ODI against New Zealand) were belters. Yes, the one in Vadodara was a tad dry, but on the whole, it was pretty batting-friendly.
“So, on those kind of wickets, if a spinner goes at less than six an over, that’s not really bad bowling. And the selectors do consider these aspects as well,” another Board insider explained. “Besides, you can’t ignore Jadeja’s experience. Neither his abilities as a middle-order batter.”