"Making a comeback against Australia won't be easy" - Virat Kohli's coach on India's Ravindra Jadeja
Former Delhi cricketer and Virat Kohli's childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, has expressed his concerns over Ravindra Jadeja's comeback for India. Jadeja is set to return to the national team for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Nagpur next week.
The all-rounder proved his fitness for the first Test by playing a Ranji Trophy game for Saurashtra recently against Tamil Nadu. Jadeja picked up eight wickets in the game and displayed his incredible ability in red-ball cricket.
However, Rajkumar Sharma explained why it wouldn't be straightforward for Ravindra Jadeja to step onto the field and get going against a strong Australian team. He said while speaking to India News:
"I am a bit concerned about Ravindra Jadeja. He will play international cricket after a long time. Although he is one of the fittest players in the world at the moment, making a comeback to international cricket, that too against Australia, won't be easy.
"Somewhere he might be a bit nervous and itchy to get back to his groove. It's good that he has played a Ranji Trophy game, but it will still be a bit of a concern as to how he performs."
Rajkumar Sharma on India's Ravichandran Ashwin vs Australia's Nathan Lyon
Rajkumar Sharma feels that the battle between off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon could be critical in deciding who wins the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Ashwin is arguably one of the best off-spinners India have produced in Tests and Rajkumar feels the hosts will be dependent on him to deliver.
On this, he stated:
"Ashwin has been a true legend of the game and is a prolific wicket-taker for India. There will definitely be comparisons between him and Nathan Lyon on who is the better bowler. Ashwin has the experience of bowling in these conditions and it will be a fascinating contest to watch out for."
The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin on February 9 at Nagpur.
Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.