SOUTHAMPTON: In a team with a few everywhere men like KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya, who don’t have a fixed position in the batting order, he is the nowhere man. Nobody talks about him when discussing India’s chances. Whether he gets to bat at the nets hardly draws media attention. Even when replacements grab eyeballs, he stays unnoticed. To make matters ironical, he is mentioned more often for his bowling action despite being a batsman.
That India are still undefeated in the World Cup has a lot to do with this anonymous personality. Along with the bowlers, Kedar Jadhav played a part in the victory against Afghanistan on Saturday, when things got a bit too close for comfort. Jasprit Bumrah bagged the Man of the Match award and Mohammed Shami the accolades for his last-over hat-trick. As has been the case with him more often than not, Jadhav stayed away from the spotlight.
That has become his role as well as the reality for him. Being a batsman with a brief to be flexible is understandable. But being a batsman who hardly gets enough balls to play in a match makes his role complicated. If he does well, he will be doing his duty. If he doesn’t, he will be failing in his duty. Few will argue for him, or say that this is one reason why he might not succeed. The proverbial daggers will be out.
“The difficult part is to wait for your turn to play so many deliveries. Our top order has been very good in the last few years. So when that opportunity comes and the team needs you, it’s important to take it. Otherwise, you can’t ask for it again. It was important to use those many balls to get set, and then choose the bowlers and choose your areas. You try to plan your innings according to that,” said Jadhav after his knock of 52 at Ageas Bowl.
In the first three matches in the World Cup, Jadhav didn’t get to bat in the first, came out in the last over but didn’t face a ball in the second and remained unbeaten on nine from eight balls after making an entry into the middle in the 48th over in the third. That’s how it has been for him. In 63 ODIs, he has batted 43 times. Despite that, he averages 44.10 in this format with a strike rate of 101.
It wasn’t easy when he came out to bat against Afghanistan. Reputation or lack of it notwithstanding, their bowlers were calling the shots and hanging in was the need of the hour. In the team as a batsman expected to up the ante in the closing stages, the player from Pune had to play a different game. “The wicket was on the slower side and the ball was turning. So it was difficult to play shots. When I went into bat, the ball was not coming that easily on to the bat. We had to take our time.”
Amid talks on his ability to cut loose towards the end, what gets forgotten is that he is a specialist batsman. Considering that, it was surprising to see him come after MS Dhoni when consolidation was the priority. With Jadhav showing that he has the waiting game, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him at No 5 at some stage in the competition. And who knows, with it, maybe he will get noticed more often than he has been on this trip of England so far.