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India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja’s tweet, teasing his supporters ahead of his national comeback went viral on Twitter.
His social media post came days after the Indian selectors named him in the national squad for the first two Tests against Australia next month. While the opening match of the crucial Border Gavaskar Trophy will be played in Nagpur, the second will be hosted by Delhi.
The outcome of the series is important for India, considering a victory over Pat Cummins and his men would seal their spot in the final of the World Test Championship to be held in England in June.
Sharing a picture of his jersey on the microblogging platform, the explosive and versatile all-format cricketer captioned the post as “Missed you. But soon.”
As soon as he made the announcement, fans flooded social media to share their reactions about the return of their favorite player.
“Waiting Sir! Sir Ravindra Jadeja should be back and roaring!! After all the trolls you received in past few days I hope you answer it with a Man of the Series performance in BGT. Let’s Go!” one of his admirers said on Twitter.
“Missed you Jaddu, specially in the T20 World Cup. Waiting for the magic to unwind in the BGT,” another added.
“Sir, you are a great Test player but one request. Please don’t dive till the end of Australia series. Give the knees a rest. Best of luck,” a third remarked.
“You are being heavily missed by millions of Cricketers! You are truly a gem of Indian cricket,” a fourth opined.
“For all people commenting that Axar has taken Jaddu’s place, wait and see how Jaddu just slides in like a cheese sandwich into the playing XI,” a fifth claimed.
“Lots of ‘haters’ itself should be motivation in itself! A big reason to shine better than ever before! Waiting Jaddu for your magic again!” a sixth expressed.
Earlier, his spin twin Ravichandran Ashwin revealed how much he was missing Ravindra Jadeja on the field.
“I put in a lot of work whenever a home series happens. I’m expecting (Ravindra) Jadeja to come through (be fit in time) but I like expanding more angles. I got some things in my head. I’ve been watching Australia play in Australia. I’d like to be working on some different angles, something new,” Ravichandran Ashwin said.
Ravindra Jadeja’s possible return to action in national colors will come at a time when many former cricketers have said that the Rohit Sharma-led side isn’t missing him on the pitch.
Among the prominent names who think he’s no longer an automatic choice in India’s playing XI are Wasim Jaffer and Gautam Gambhir.
“India are not missing Jadeja, who has been a phenomenal player in all three formats. But since India have found Axar Patel, we are not talking too much about Jadeja since he’s been away. Goes on to show how good Axar has come about as a cricketer. Fantastic,” Wasim Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo.
“At the moment, yes (Axar is India’s No.1 spin all-rounder). India are lucky they have got such a like-for-like replacement (for Jadeja) in Axar Patel. He’s making the most of it in all formats. He can bowl in the powerplay, which I feel Jadeja does not like. Axar can do it. And If he bats like this, it’s debatable,” the former India opener noted.
“In the last game also, he’s contributed immensely with the bat. Today (Thursday), he again showed how much he has improved. Massive improvements in Axar as a batter. He’s got a pretty good technique. We don’t see him slogging too many balls. He’s pretty sure that when he connects, he’s going to go out of the park. He targets the spinners, stands still and hits it pretty straight as well,” Wasim Jaffer explained.
Similar sentiments were shared by 2011 World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir who opined that it will be a tough road ahead for Ravindra Jadeja if he is make a comeback to the national side in limited-overs cricket.
“I believe that whenever Axar Patel has been given opportunities and in whichever format, he has performed exceptionally well. It is a good thing. He has put pressure on Jadeja,” Gautam Gambhir told Star Sports.
“Axar Patel – whether it is T20 or Test cricket – he is putting pressure in every format and today you also got to see the range. I believe the more options you have is better for the Indian team and Axar as well,” Gautam Gambhir added.
India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.