There are not many people within the cricketing fraternity who can find faults in India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's game. Ravindra Jadeja's transformation as a batter in the last few years has particularly impressed cricket pundits from around the world. However, former India opener Aakash Chopra doesn't think that the left-hander will be an asset for Team India in this month's Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup later this year.
Besides his batting and bowling prowess, Ravindra Jadeja is widely regarded as the best fielder in the world. Despite being a three-dimensional player, Ravindra Jadeja's fitness has recently been a concern.
Recently, Ravindra Jadeja missed a few games during India's tour of the West Indies, appearing in only one ODI and two T20 matches in the Caribbean.
His performance against Nicholas Pooran and his men wasn't too impressive and Aakash Chopra believes that Ravindra Jadeja isn't the right player to partner with spin mainstay Yuzvendra Chahal in the Asia Cup in the UAE and the T20 World Cup in Australia.
“The second name (after Chahal) on this list is interesting – Ravindra Jadeja. Jaddu will definitely play, this both you and I know, but he will not give you too many wickets, be ready for that. The mirror does not lie,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“If we see his numbers, he has played seven matches since the T20 World Cup, picked up just four wickets, average is above 43 and the economy is also close to 8.5 – it's not great,” Aakash Chopra added.
“The wicket-taking ability has not been seen in the T20 internationals he has played or he has not picked up wickets. The IPL also tells the same story – played 10 matches in the last IPL – five wickets at an average of nearly 50, an economy of 7.50, and a strike rate close to 40,” Aakash Chopra explained.
Earlier, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar had echoed similar sentiments.
“If he is going to be a batting all-rounder, then has got to show that he is an adequate replacement to somebody like a Dinesh Karthik, who is likely to bat at No. 6 or No. 7, or somebody like a Hardik Pandya at No. 6,” Sanjay Manjrekar told Sports18.
“Ravindra Jadeja himself knows there is some serious competition coming in. So it's really about Jadeja now convincing the selectors whether he is going to be a bowling all-rounder or a batting all-rounder. Depending on that, his place in the team will be decided. If he is competing as a bowling all-rounder, he has got to convince the team management that he is better than Axar Patel as a second spinning option,” Sanjay Manjrekar elaborated.
But legends like Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri don't agree with Aakash Chopra and Sanjay Manjrekar.
“I love Ravindra Jadeja's game among the new cricketers because he plays without pressure. He enjoys cricket. That's why he is good at bowling as well as batting. He also does a great job in fielding. I believe that nothing can be done properly under pressure. If you take pressure in the field of cricket, then your performance will be bad,” Kapil Dev said.
“Jadeja has improved vastly. He has realized his potential. I think, on this tour, even Axar Patel has realized that he wasn’t doing justice to his potential as a batsman. Both of these players have a lot of talent when it comes to the batting department. They will add a lot of balance to the Indian team if they continue in this fashion,” Ravi Shastri told FanCode.
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