Want to establish myself as finisher and win games for India: Kedar Jadhav
Recalled to the India team for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe after his unremarkable ODI debut last year against Sri Lanka, Kedar Jadhav is one of those in the squad who have been given a precious chance to make a mark for the ODI national team – Harbhajan Singh, Manish Pandey, Sandeep Sharma, Murali Vijay, Robin Uthappa and Manoj Tiwary being the others.
"I was completely overwhelmed by the situation," Jadhav reflected on his 24-ball 20 in his only ODI innings. "I wanted to enjoy the moment, but things didn't go according to plan."
He is looking forward to making the best of the chance handed to him, and cement his place as a lower-order finisher for the India team. Jadhav also credited his sessions with Yuvraj Singh in the Delhi Daredevils training ground for having given his game an extra dimension.
"In whatever opportunities I get, I want to establish myself as a finisher. What I want to do is win games for India. I don't want to be someone who scores a flashy 70-80, like I did in the Quadrangular series, and gets out when the teams needs just 30-odd runs. I want to finish games."
“This year Yuvi paaji joined the squad and helped me with my head and body positions.
"He made me realise that without getting into the right position, I was still able to hit the ball well. So he worked with me and helped me get into better positions. His advice has made me work on my batting and fitness as well. In the last few months I've worked so hard like I've never done before."
Australia tour in 2014 turning point of my career: Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav’s match-winning calibre has been on display several times throughout his long and illustrious domestic career – the most inspiring instance being his performance for India ‘A’ in the 2014 Quadrangular Series Final match against Australia 'A', a tournament which he remembers as the turning point in his career.
A match winning 73-ball 78 in the final with a broken wrist helped India A win the tournament by four wickets. He had not known about his broken wrist while batting though, only discovering the extent of his injury days after the Man of the Match performance.
"During the games I felt maybe there's a sprain and I thought after the tour there will be a two-month break so I can rest then. After the tour ended, I went to the National Cricket Academy, got a few scans done and it was then I got to know that I have a broken wrist," says Jadhav, when asked what kept him going through the pain.
"I feel whenever the team needed players to stand up and perform, that is the time I've put my hand up and performed. When we toured Australia with the India A team, I performed in all the crucial games. That was the turning point of my career.”
With Ravindra Jadeja having fallen from favour this year, and MS Dhoni in the last innings of his great career, the finisher’s spot in the India team is up for grabs. Time will tell how well this 30-year-old braveheart will stake his claim to become India’s match-winner.