Ajit Agarkar, the chief of the BCCI selection committee, and the new Indian team coach Gautam Gambhir have said that star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja remains in contention despite being not picked in the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series. India is set to play 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs beginning July 27.
Ravindra Jadeja announced his retirement from T20Is along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win. He last played an ODI for India in the final of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, where he was excellent with the ball, taking a fifer against South Africa in a crunch match.
However, Jadeja failed to find a place in the Indian ODI squad for the upcoming series in Sri Lanka, as the BCCI selectors gave a chance to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as spin bowling all-rounders along with Kuldeep Yadav as specialist spinner. There is also Riyan Parag included in the squad if more spin is needed.
Meanwhile, Agarkar, the BCCI chief selector gave a huge update on the future of Ravindra Jadeja in the ODI format. Agarkar said it wouldn’t have made sense to take both Axar Patel and Jadeja for the short three-match series in Sri Lanka because then neither of them would have played all three games.
“I think it would have been pointless to take both him and Axar (Patel) for this short series. We know what Jaddu’s done. He’s had a terrific 50-over World Cup, so no, he wasn’t dropped at all. All options are open, but either of them wouldn’t have played all three games if we had taken both,” Agarkar told reporters.
Furthermore, Agarkar stated that Jadeja is very important as a player, and with the big Test season coming up, he is well within the scheme of things.
“There’s a big Test season coming up where he’s likely to feature in a lot of the Tests, so I don’t think three games would have mattered. We probably should have clarified that (his absence) after the selection. He hasn’t been dropped. He’s still within the scheme of things and very important as a player,” Agarkar added.
Gautam Gambhir highlights Ravindra Jadeja’s importance in the Indian team
On the other hand, new India head coach Gautam Gambhir highlighted Ravindra Jadeja’s importance to the Indian team and said that he will be very important for the upcoming Test season. India will play 2 Tests against Bangladesh and 3 Tests against New Zealand at home. Then India will travel to Australia for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Gambhir said: “After the Sri Lanka tour, we’ve got a long break, a month-long break, and then we’ve got 10 Test matches. That’s not bad because playing continuously helps in Test matches, with the tour of Australia coming up as well. That’s what the challenge is all about, and that’s what I’m really excited about. Some of the players who missed out on the Sri Lanka tour, like Ravindra Jadeja, are very important for all those ten Test matches. I’m really looking forward to all the Test matches.”
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