With the 2019 World Cup just around the corner, Team India has faced a major injury issue with Kedar Jadhav being doubtful for the showpiece event. In case Kedar Jadhav fails to recover by 22nd May when the Men in Blue board the flight to London, Ambati Rayudu or Axar Patel could be the possible replacements for Kedar.
As per reports in the Cricket Next, it is learnt that Kedar Jadhav’s right shoulder is currently on the process of recovery. He has been monitored on a day to day basis by the Team India’s physio Patrick Farhart.
“The BCCI national selectors have been kept apprised of Jadhav’s recovery process on a day-to-day basis. They are keeping a very close eye on his fitness in conjunction with physio Farhart.
It’s too early to say whether Jadhav will be fit enough to take part in the tournament but call on that will be taken next week, probably as late as the departure date of the Indian team which is May 22,” a BCCI source was quoted by CricketNext on Wednesday.
The selectors sat to meet India A squad for the series against Sri Lanka and Windies on Tuesday. Yet again they were informed about Kedar Jadhav’s fitness issues. They decided to not take a call on the replacement. The Men in Blue can still make a replacement till 23rd May as per the rules of th International Cricket Council (ICC).
As per reports in Cricket Next, the selectors have a few options in their mind in case Kedar Jadhav fails to recover in time. A source close to Cricket Next stated that it will be either Ambati Rayudu or Axar Patel who will replace Jadhav in case he doesn’t recover in time.
“The selectors had nominated five standbys to cover all bases. Since Jadhav is a specialist batsman, the selectors are looking at replacing him with either Ambati Rayudu or Axar Patel, who like Jadhav can chip in with a few overs as well.
“The other three standbys are Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini. By naming Pant in India ‘A’ team’s ODI games against West Indies ‘A’ on Tuesday, the selectors have given a clear indication that for now, they want the Delhi wicketkeeper to focus on Indian senior team’s West Indies tour which will follow immediately after the World Cup,” the source added.
Kedar Jadhav is an injury prone player and has been down with severe injuries ever since the start of his stop-start career. He is a terrific striker of the ball but injury has been an area of concern for him. He had to miss the whole IPL last year after sustaining an injury during the very first match of the tournament.