 "This all-rounder of the Indian cricket team is thinking about retirement? The place is not being made in the playing eleven")
Perhaps the timing is not right for the current Indian cricket team. After the crushing defeats in the last few months, the pressure is mounting on the stalwarts of the Indian cricket team to retire. Ravichandran Ashwin has said goodbye. Now the most pressure is on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Everyone is counting the pros and cons of their retirement. But there is little talk about the pressure on an all-rounder.
This all-rounder is none other than Ravindra Jadeja, who saved India from defeat in the Brisbane Test. Jadeja, who has retired from T20 cricket, will hardly get a chance in ODI matches now. Jadeja played a major role in avoiding the follow-on by scoring 77 runs against Australia in the Brisbane Test.
The Indian team has to play T20 and ODI series against England from January 22. After this, there is the ICC Champions Trophy from February 19. The last date to announce the team for the Champions Trophy is 12th January, that is, only 2 days are left to announce the team.
India will have to play all their matches in UAE. In such a scenario, India will definitely field at least 3 spinners in their team. Despite this, Ravindra Jadeja does not seem to get a place in the team.
If India selects 4 batsmen and 2 wicketkeepers in the 15-man squad, there will be room for an additional all-rounder. If this happens, then Ravindra Jadeja can make a place in the team. If the Indian team goes with 5 specialist batsmen, Jadeja’s position seems to be in jeopardy. One of the reasons for this is that the Indian team management is encouraging young players a lot these days. The exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin and the inclusion of Washington Sundar in the playing eleven is proof of this.
Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav are contenders to be selected as spin all-rounders and spinners in the Indian team. For some time now, Akshar Patel has been preferred over Ravindra Jadeja in ODIs. In such a scenario, if India includes 3 spinners in the playing XI then they could be Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav. This means that it is also possible that Jadeja could be selected in the squad but not get a place in the playing eleven.
36-year-old Ravindra Jadeja has played 197 ODIs, 80 Tests and 74 T20Is for India. Now if a player who has been playing for the country for 15 years doesn’t make it to the playing XI, it won’t be surprising if he starts thinking about retirement. But if it does happen, it will be only for the ODI format. Ravindra Jadeja’s place in the Test cricket team seems secure. He is now used as a batting all-rounder. Jadeja can be seen batting at number six against England in June. Yes, they may lose their place in the team one day.
India’s potential team could be: Rohit Sharma (capt), Yashshwi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul/Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh/Ravinder Jadeja, Shivam Dubey/Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah/ Mohammad Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh.