June 29 was the last time Ravindra Jadeja played for the Indian cricket team. That doesn’t seem long ago. But a lot has changed since then. He, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli hadn’t retired from T20Is, and Rahul Dravid was the head coach. Team India has played 8 T20Is and 3 ODIs since, and naturally, he hasn’t participated in the shortest format. But why wasn’t he playing ODIs against Sri Lanka when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were both there as well? Is this an indication of what’s about to come under new India head coach Gautam Gambhir?
Although it’s in the past now, we can’t forget how Axar Patel overshadowed Jadeja in the T20 World Cup. Captain Rohit Sharma didn’t trust Jadeja with the ball or bat, and he didn’t do any wonders in the field either. Was it a sign of late-career decline, as has been the case with most players when they reach the fag end of their career?
Ravindra Jadeja going no where in Tests
There is no doubt that Jadeja is currently the world’s best all-rounder in the longest format of the game, Test cricket. He has been exceptional for India, especially since 2018. His bowling has been great since he made his debut in 2012, but for half a decade he didn’t show his true potential with the bat. Jadeja was someone who’s scored three triple centuries in first-class cricket, but he hadn’t scored one for India in the first 37 Tests he played.
After scoring his maiden hundred against the West Indies in October 2018, he averaged a whopping 51.3 with the bat. In comparison, he averaged just 30.8 from his debut until scoring that ton in Rajkot. He’s also the 8th-highest active wicket-taker. Why am I rambling about his record and achievements? To show that he isn’t going anywhere when it comes to Test cricket.
You, me, or even Gautam Gambhir may not like him, but the numbers don’t lie. Jadeja’s one of the greatest all-rounders to ever grace the game, and his inclusion in India’s Test team depends entirely on his desire. Whether he wishes to retire tomorrow or after 4 years, that’s his call, and no one can question him. However, that may not happen in the other format he’s still playing, ODIs.
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No Champions Trophy for Jadeja?
As mentioned above, Jadeja wasn’t part of the recently played 3-match ODI series in Sri Lanka. That certainly raises a question. If two players who are the same age as him, Kohli and Rohit, can feature after a long month’s rest from cricket, why can’t he? One answer could be that he may not be in the scheme of things for the next 50-over ICC event, the Champions Trophy 2025.
Jadeja is an ODI great as well, with the third most runs at No. 7 and 220 wickets to his name. However, his form has dipped in the last couple of years. Since 2022, he has averaged just 31.4 with the bat and has a strike rate of just 73.2. That’s very poor, especially considering that his job is to finish the innings. He’s got zero fifty-plus scores, and more than 50% of the balls he faces are dots. His bowling numbers have remained the same, but he was never a wicket-taker in ODIs but rather a container.
Axar Patel, who’s his direct competitor, averages 6 less but strikes at a much faster rate (92.8) during this period. Axar wasn’t part of the ODI World Cup 2023, but right now he seems like the player Jadeja was a couple of years ago. Both have played a similar number of games and have been equally good with the ball, but batting is where Axar is ahead.
It’s not just Axar, though. On the Sri Lanka tour, Gambhir showed that he wants to play multiple all-rounders and part-timers in the XI. If that’s the case, Jadeja’s batting becomes more important than his bowling. Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar are all there, plus one can even add Riyan Parag. If so many spin options are already there, it is batting that separates him from the others, because he isn’t a better bowler than Kuldeep at the moment, and Axar, Washington, and Parag might just be better white-ball batters than him at the moment.
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