The squad for India’s tour of Sri Lanka featured several surprises and gave a glimpse of India’s new selection policy keeping the future in mind. One such surprise was the removal of Ravindra Jadeja from the ODI squad.
Jadeja had already announced his retirement from T20Is after India’s 2024 T20 World Cup victory. But he was believed to be an important part of India’s Test and ODI teams in the upcoming ICC tournaments.
But the all-rounder was dropped from India’s ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. A BCCI official has revealed the reason for his drop. Apart from being a useful batsman and bowler, Jadeja is also considered one of the best fielders in world cricket.
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BCCI official reveals reason for Ravindra Jadeja’s exclusion from ODIs against Sri Lanka
A BCCI official has revealed that Ravindra Jadeja is no longer in India’s white-ball scheme, which is why he was not selected for the Sri Lanka ODIs. With limited opportunities ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy, the selectors wanted to give full opportunities to other spin bowling all-rounders like Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
“There are only six ODIs left, including the three in Sri Lanka, before next year’s Champions Trophy. The selectors want to use the handful of matches available to give more opportunities to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar,” a BCCI source told Hindustan Times.
Ravindra Jadeja has been a great servant of Indian cricket. His contributions to Test and ODI cricket are unmatched. He has won numerous caps for India in his 15-year international career. He played all the matches of the 2023 ODI World Cup, where India finished runners-up.
The left-hander has been a vital part of Indian teams across all formats. Since his debut in 2009, Jadeja has featured in 197 ODIs out of the 354 matches played by India. He has always been in India’s starting XI, barring injuries.
“There is nothing wrong with Jadeja’s performance,” said a BCCI official
The BCCI official further mentioned that there is nothing wrong with Jadeja’s performance but the team management is looking to build a team for the future under new coach Gautam Gambhir.
“There is nothing wrong with Jadeja’s performance. The management simply wants to consider other options as we have to build a team for the future,” the official said.
Now that Jadeja is no longer a part of India’s ODI plans, it is time for his deputy Axar Patel to step up and grab his opportunities. Axar has been in the Indian team for quite some time now but has not been able to cement his place in the starting XI.
The Indian team management is likely to give more opportunities to Axar Patel in the ODIs now as he will be the preferred choice to replace Jadeja.
In the 2024 T20 World Cup, Axar Patel played a key role in India’s title win. Axar played a brilliant game against England in the semi-final and then played a spectacular role in the final against South Africa to help India cross the finishing line.
Even Rohit Sharma preferred Axar Patel in the bowling department despite having Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI, which shows the team’s growing confidence in Axar.