Ravindra Jadeja Dropped, Rested or Out of India's Long-term White-ball Plans?

The case of one of India’s finest all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja is an interesting one to ponder. Once he was India’s first pick as an all-rounder but now seems to be out of favour in India’s white-ball setup.

He was part of India’s ODI side which went all the way to the final of the World Cup 2023. But following the heartbreaking loss in Ahmedabad, he was hardly picked in India’s ODI setup. He played a total of 26 games that year which shows that the selectors had given him a fairly long run of games to prove himself.

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But his recent performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, which India managed to win, has certainly not helped his case, putting up a fairly disastrous campaign scoring just 35 runs and picking up 1 wicket. He struggled to make his chances count and this time he likely ran out of opportunities.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided to not select Jadeja for the upcoming ODI games which are set to take place in their white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.

One man’s downfall is another man’s opportunity. Axar Patel certainly took advantage of the same to present his case with performance in both batting and bowling aspects which has likely prompted the selectors to go for Axar.

Unlike Jadeja, Axar has been helping his franchise recently in the IPL and the Indian team by showcasing his flexibility as a floater in the batting unit where he scored a crucial 47 and the partnership with Virat Kohli which helped out the Men in Blue in the first innings of the finale against the Proteas.

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His bowling is also very handy as he picked up 9 wickets and scored 92 runs as a floater with a healthy strike rate of just under 140 through the tournament.

Another interesting point to note is that Jadeja has been picking up injuries recently, which even affects his fielding as well. He might not be a spring chicken anymore but he is certainly a gun fielder when at 100 per cent.

To keep the Saurashtra-based all-rounder fresh, the selectors might be considering to utilise Jadeja only in the longest format of the game, where he has proven himself to be an indispensable all-rounder who can change the game with bat, ball and on the field.