HYDERABAD: AT the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, a lefthander is undergoing an intense batting session. He looks confident, middling almost every delivery. Look closely and it is Ravindra Jadeja, trying to come back into India’s limited-over scheme of things. While Kuldeep Yadav is certain to be the No 1 spinner in the World Cup squad and Yuzvendra Chahal has been the preferred No 2, the door is not shut on Jadeja yet. He has done well when given a chance since last year’s Asia Cup. Now, the injury cloud over Hardik Pandya opens another window for him.
With his batting skills, the left-hander from Saurashtra can be counted as an all-rounder in the shorter formats. In the 11 matches Jadeja has played after returning to the ODI side, he has taken 16 wickets at an average of 30.87. In the same period, Yuzvendra Chahal has played 14 matches and scalped 26 with an average of 23.76. If there is a noticeable difference there, ability with the bat makes Jadeja a contender.
However, the road ahead will be difficult for Jadeja. Asked about the likelihood of him breaking into the World Cup squad, former India spinner Maninder Singh said, “There is no doubt that Kuldeep and Chahal will be the first two spinners in the squad. They are match-winning bowlers, something which is required in tournaments like the World Cup.”
Singh believes there are indications that India might go to England with two seaming allrounders, which makes it even more difficult for Jadeja.
“If it was Asia, it could have been Jadeja. But since it is England, it will be difficult for him, considering that Vijay Shankar is being given many opportunities in the last two months. From the looks of it, the management is looking to include two seam bowling all-rounders.
It will be difficult for Jadeja to make it to the squad, unless Hardik Pandya does not gain full fitness in time,” Singh said. There are signs that say Chahal’s performance since the beginning of 2018 has not been as good as Kuldeep’s.
While the former has 44 kills in 23 ODIs, the latter has registered 55 in 25. Queried whether this will have any bearing on the combination, Virat Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against Australia, “It depends on the opposition we are playing against. It’s simply which of the two bowlers are effective against the batsmen. If conditions are seaming, then obviously it will be more pace dominated with Hardik who is the all-rounder in the team. It’s all about combinations. I don’t see one ahead of the other in the pecking order.”
The skipper made it clear that it’s a boon to have the two in the squad. “I think them together are the strongest spin bowling partnership in the world at the moment. Our success over the last couple of years is mainly because of these two guys, the impact they make in the middle overs and their ability to pick up wickets. Both have been outstanding. If the combination needs to be changed, it will purely be on which bowler is stacked up better against opposition batsmen, whether there are more right-handers or left-handers.”
By all means, for Jadeja to get to the World Cup, he needs to do something extraordinary. And there are only five ODIs left.