Indian veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels that Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s poor form with the bat would be the cause of concern for the Indian team going into the ODI World Cup. The left-handed all-rounder struggled to get going with the bat in the continental event failing to make an impact for the team.
Ravindra Jadeja threw his wicket away for just 7 runs in the crucial 38th over of the game, as he failed to accompany the young Shubman Gill in the tricky chase on Colombo, as he played a rash shot off Mustafizur Rahman’s bowling to put the Indian side in more pressure during the final Super Four game of the continental event.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik believes that Ravindra Jadeja’s recent slump with the bat in ODI cricket is a cause for concern for the Indian team and noted that he hasn’t been at his best with the bat recently.
Karthik thinks that his poor form with the bat is unquestionably a problem for the Indian team and believes that it will be crucial for the team’s success moving forward to see Jadeja delivering with the bat.
“And Ravindra Jadeja, for his batting. For some time now, he has been phenomenal in Test cricket, very very effective, and trustworthy. But in the white-ball formats, he hasn’t been at his best with batting. He is a key player. Whenever he has done well for India, take the 2013 Champions Trophy, take any tournament India has done well, he has been a very critical performer and he needs to step up with the bat.
“In case, he doesn’t have a great game with the ball, India can still manage. But if he is not scoring runs with the bat, it could be an issue for Team India,” Dinesh Karthik said.
Ravindra Jadeja has been poor with bat for India at the Asia Cup, scoring just 25 runs in his three innings. Despite being selected as the primary all-around spinner for India, Jadeja is yet to perform well with the bat in the competition and would be keen to put his best foot forward in the finals against Sri Lanka.
The One Area Where The Indian Team Will Be A Little Bit Concerned – Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik feels that the Indian team management would be concerned about the form of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel for two different reasons, as their form with both bat and ball hasn’t been up to the mark in recent times.
“The one area where the Indian team will be a little bit concerned is both the left-arm spinners, for different reasons. Axar Patel, for his bowling. On this pitch, he hasn’t produced enough venom that he is capable of in both the matches he has played,” Dinesh Karthik concluded.
Axar Patel was picked in the Indian World Cup squad ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal due to his consistent performance in the last two years, but failed in the spin-friendly conditions of Colombo and was ruled out of the much-awaited final against Sri Lanka after sustaining injury during the game against Bangladesh on Friday