WEST INDIES TOUR OF INDIA 2025
Ravindra Jadeja was left out of India’s recently-announced ODI squad for the Australia tour © BCCI
India’s premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has not given up on his dream to win a 50-over World Cup despite his recent snub for the Australian tour. Speaking at the conclusion of the second day’s play of the second Test against West Indies in Delhi, Jadeja also confirmed that prior communication was made by the selector and the new captain Shubman Gill on his omission before the squad was announced.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar did remark that they couldn’t accommodate two left-arm spinners for a series in Australia and Jadeja acknowledged it.
“Look, it’s not in my hands,” Jadeja said on his ODI future. “I want to play but at the end of the day, the team management, selectors, coach, captain have a thinking why I’m not in this series. There must be some reason behind it. And they talked to me. It’s not like they surprised me when the team was announced that I’m not in it. It’s a good thing that the captain, selector, coach talked to me and there’s a reason behind it.”
Part of the squad that fell short right at the final hurdle against Australia in the previous world cup, Jadeja, who will be almost 39 during the tournament in 2027, is hopeful of finally getting his hands on the trophy.
“Whenever I get a chance obviously I’ll try to do what I have done all these years,” he opined. “And a major tournament like the World Cup, if I get a chance, there are a lot of one dayers before that. If I do well and get a chance, it’ll be good for Indian cricket. It’s everyone’s dream to win the 50-over World Cup. Last time we fell short. Maybe we can do it this time.”
Player of the match in the opening Test, Jadeja has already made an impact once again in the ongoing Test as well. Despite not getting a chance to bat, Jadeja has already picked up three wickets to dent the opposition before stumps on the second day. But the senior pro was quick to point out that the wicket hasn’t deteriorated yet.
“It’s not like every ball is spinning a lot,” he pointed out. “The bounce is low. You have to use your shoulder more. By bowling slow when there is less bounce, the batters find it easy to go back and adjust. You have to keep varying your pace on this pitch. Every ball isn’t spinning as such. So there is hard work ahead.
“It will be tough on day three. If we break this partnership, it will become easier because they don’t have a long batting line-up. But it won’t be so easy because the ball isn’t spinning quickly.”
Jadeja also hinted that India will continue to play on surfaces that don’t turn square right from the opening day.
“I’m not surprised because we’ve asked for slow turn,” he said. “We’ve not asked for rank turners. I think this is what we expected, that as the game progresses, the wicket will start turning slowly. Not on the first day. So we’re not surprised. We have to work hard. We have to bowl well through the innings. Then only we’ll be able to get them out. I think we’ll continue to do it and hopefully we’ll produce good results.”
The veteran all-rounder also heaped praise on two centurions – Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill – singling out the new skipper for his transformation with the bat. “He has been scoring a lot of runs after becoming captain,” Jadeja pointed out. “I think that’s a good sign for Indian cricket that he’s been scoring so many runs for India in the recent past. I would say Jaiswal is very clever in terms of his batting. He knows which bowler to attack and which bowler to play out. I think his maturity level is very good. He doesn’t try to hit every bowler. That’s what makes him successful. The reason he scores so many runs match after match is that he has a good shot selection.
“I think the young generation takes responsibility for themselves. It’s not like they leave it to someone else. It’s a good thing for Indian cricket that they are used to playing long innings. Going forward, Indian cricket will benefit a lot.”
© Cricbuzz
