He was a late comer in the Indian team and when he came, Kedar Jadhav had shown his skills are none less that of Superman. From batting to bowling to keeping wickets, Jadhav can do everything – two of which he has shown at international level and have found success as well.
Jadhav, who was experimented as a bowler on turning tracks of India against New Zealand in absence of Suresh Raina, became a highlight every time he came out to bowl. In the first ODI, Jadhav tasted success quite early and got two wickets in just three overs, with two of them coming on consecutive deliveries. Jadhav was an elated man, so as the captain, who continued to show faith in him and in the very next game, Jadhav got the big wicket of Tom Latham, in just two overs he bowled. Mighty impressive. He was on a role right throughout the series as a part-time spinner, especially when mainstay like Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were rested.
Of course, he had to be sidelined when the main slow bowlers were back in the side and he bowled only nine overs in the series against England. Then came Champions Trophy and it was his batting prowess on which he found a place in the side. But Jadhav was all ready to bowl as well. Especially, when the opposition was totally unaware about how he bowls?
Jadhav came, Jadhav had shined and batsmen were flabbergasted.
In a situation where Bangladesh batsmen were trying to wrest the game from Indian bowlers, Jadhav’s magical arm produced the blockbuster wicket of elite batsman Tamim Iqbal, who was pushing other bowlers aside for runs. Indian skipper Virat Kohli was amused and the regalement level forced him to continue with Jadhav, who surprisingly got the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim as well.
Kedar Jadhav is not a gem with the ball but his two scalps were. Both Tamim Iqbal and Rahim were doing the job for Bangladesh but Jadhav played a spoilsport and devastated their hopes, cutting and chopping into pieces which he later ate up and flushed as well.
Are Jadhav performances sending some vibes to Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja which they are receiving like mobile signals? Maybe yes or no but fans are.
Indian team has a new captain in form of Virat Kohli. He is not like MS Dhoni who has blind trust on R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, unlike in Test cricket. Since the day Kohli has taken over the captaincy in Limited overs, Ashwin has struggled in a handful of games he has played under him whereas Jadhav has presented first class report card, verified by everyone.
What if Jadhav’s magical arm continues to produce results? Will he be able to change the abbreviation batsman to an all-rounder written in front of him?
Well surely few of the players who have a threat with him would like to this not to happen as they are already in the side due to nepotism but it’s a matter of the fact that Jadhav can be that first player who is not just a complete batsman, but also a bowler for team India which we are looking from past many years.
One can debate that we have had players like Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar who bowled well but they were never called an all-rounder. Jadhav still has a long way to go and in short stay, he has shown that he is a class apart. It’s not an arbitration to heap praises on him but a sort of confidence which has been developed after watching him and after looking at Ashwin’s record in ODIs in past few months, the confidence gets bolstered.
With a trend of developing the Indian team into Test and limited overs differently, there can be a case when Jadhav may be inked as India’s staple all-rounder in limited overs cricket. Though the destination is still far away from Maratha warrior the snags which he has quashed to reach this level, it can marshal Jadhav do the task proficiently and if he does it, then it can be a soft and unambiguous message for Ravichandran Ashwin to either perform or make a limited appearance in limited overs cricket.