Ajay Jadeja, the former India international feels the team management doesn’t need to look beyond Ravindra Jadeja when it comes to all-rounder alternatives. A gun fielder who can contribute in both batting and bowling departments, the 33-year-old Ravindra Jadeja has represented India in 57 Tests, 168 ODIs and 55 T20Is.
Hardik Pandya had his fair share of injury problems in the past two years and the Indian team seems to be looking at potential alternatives for the all-rounder’s role.
India are currently split for choice when it comes to batting and bowling options. The team management has got a good opening mix to choose from and a wide pool of talent in the bowling artillery. But the Asian heavyweights are still searching for a complete player who serves the purpose of a perfect all-rounder.
Ajay Jadeja Reckons Rohit Sharma Will Pick Ravindra Jadeja As The Lone All Rounder Once He Recovers From Injury
India missed an additional bowling option in the recent bilateral ODI series versus South Africa where they suffered their first series whitewash in the rainbow nation. India also missed the services of Ravindra Jadeja, who was ruled out of that series due to an injury. The Saurashtra all-rounder is undergoing his final stage of recovery post his knee injury, and is also unavailable for the ODIs and T20Is against the West Indies as well.
“I’ve seen Rohit’s captaincy and he’s got a pure mindset. He would like to have five pure bowlers on his side. And five pure batters as well. He will then try to squeeze out a few additional overs from someone. Someone like Hooda won’t be in the team only for his off-spin bowling… he’s there in the squad for his batting,” said Ajay Jadeja.
“Similarly, Chahar won’t be in the team as a pure bowler. He won’t replace Bumrah or Shami in the bowling line-up. According to me, Rohit will pick Jadeja as the lone all-rounder. He will put five batters to Jadeja’s right and five bowlers to his left,” said Ajay Jadeja.
“India doesn’t need any other all-rounder. They have got Hardik, Pant, Ishan, Suryakumar, Rohit, Kohli and Rahul. Do you think the team needs better options? Yes, they can try Venkatesh Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad but they already have Rohit-Rahul pair. India has got a set team and Jadeja is the only option. He can be considered as a pure batter and pure bowler as well,” he further added.
In his absence, India are trying with Deepak Hooda as an all-rounder in the ODI series against West Indies. Venkatesh Iyer has been added to India’s T20I squad.
Ravindra Jadeja Retained By CSK Will Play IPL 2022 Next
Ravindra Jadeja, who last played for India in the opening Test against New Zealand in November, will return to action in the upcoming IPL 2022 edition. Ravindra Jadeja has been part of the IPL since the inaugural season, having played for the title-winning franchise of the 2008 season, Rajasthan Royals. He has been retained by Chennai Super Kings as their first-choice player along with captain MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali.
Chennai Super Kings head into the IPL 2022 mega auction with a purse value of 48 crores after the retention. The franchise retained Ravindra Jadeja (16 Crores), MS Dhoni (12 Crores), Moeen Ali (8 Crores) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (6 Crores) as in the process, they have tried to make up for at least one player in every department of the game.
Ravindra Jadeja has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012 as he was part of two title-winning campaigns in 2018 and 2021. In the 2021 season, the allrounder scored 227 runs with a strike rate of 145.51 and also picked 13 wickets with an exceptional economy of 7.06. No wonder he bagged the highest price tag among 4 retained players even more than MS Dhoni.
In his IPL career, Ravindra Jadeja represented only 3 IPL franchises- Rajasthan Royals (In the first three seasons), Kochi Tuskers Kerala (2011), Chennai Super Kings (2012- now). In 10 years with the franchise, Ravindra Jadeja played 132 IPL matches for the Yellow Army as he scored 1324 runs with a strike rate of 135.79. While with the ball, he picked 100 wickets with an economy of 7.53.