Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the Indian squad due to an injury that he sustained during the first Test match against New Zealand last November. Ravindra Jadeja has been recalled to the national squad for the bilateral series against Sri Lanka.
He had been out of the Indian set-up for a long time due to an injury. He expressed his delight at returning to the Indian setup and stated that he is looking forward to playing in the T20Is and Tests against Sri Lanka.
In the 1st T20I, India rode on blazing knocks from Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer as the hosts pummelled Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 series lead. Ishan Kishan hit 89 off 56 balls, and Shreyas Iyer was unbeaten on 57 runs off 28 balls as the pair steered India to a massive 199/2 after being put to bat first. Rohit Sharma also scored 44 off 32 balls.
Ravindra Jadeja Can Take Up Any Kind Of Responsibility: Parthiv Patel
In the midst of the batting onslaught, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also made a return to the mix but scored three runs off four balls. He then went on to register bowling figures of 1/28 to finish as the only Indian bowler who bowled his full quota of four overs.
The team management’s move of promoting Ravindra Jadeja up the order may have surprised a few but former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel believes the all-rounder has shown his batting prowess of late. India would be looking to find the perfect team combination for this year’s T20I World Cup and Parthiv Patel said Ravindra Jadeja fits the bill perfectly. He described the Saurashtra all-rounder as a “3D” pick who can contribute to all three facets.
“Jadeja has earned his reputation as a batting wizard who can take up any kind of responsibility. He’s done that in T20Is and ODIs and we saw him doing that against England in Test cricket as well. We all know his batting ability… and if he’s fit for the T20 World Cup, then he should bat at the No. 6 position. If India picks four-seamers in Australia, then Deepak Chahar or Shardul Thakur can bat at the No. 7 spot,” Parthiv Patel said.
“According to me, Jadeja is fully able to bat at No. 6 or even No. 5 in the batting line-up. He’s that kind of player who can be used as a bowler and batter as well… and we all know how good his fielding skills are. He’s the 3D player in the true sense,” he further added.
Ravindra Jadeja was out of action since November last year after suffering an injury in the Test match against New Zealand in Kanpur. He made a comeback in the first match of the three-match T20 International series against the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team, where India won by 62 runs, and he was able to pick 1 wicket by giving away 28 runs in his 4-over quota.
Rohit Sharma Wants Ravindra Jadeja To Bat Higher Up The Order
Skipper Rohit Sharma also explained the rationale behind Ravindra Jadeja’s promotion, saying he wants the multi-utility player to bat higher up the batting order.
“Very happy with Jadeja’s return. We want more from him that is why we asked him to bat higher. You will see that happening more and more in the games that he plays for India. I want him to bat up the order more,” said Rohit at the post-match presentation.
“He is a very improved batter, so we will try and see if we can promote him going forward. We are very clear with what we want to achieve with him in white-ball cricket.”
Ravindra Jadeja, who was recovering from an injury in the last two months, made his return to the starting eleven as India picked as many as six new players from their previous outing against the West Indies. Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Ravindra Jadeja came into the playing eleven while Deepak Hooda made his T20I debut. Ruturaj Gaikwad was unavailable for selection due to a wrist issue.