World Cup 2019: Why Ravindra Jadeja should be considered for a spot in the playing XI
We are just 10 days away from the marquee ICC ODI Cricket World Cup and teams have begun their full-fledged preparations for the premier event, just like India. Touted as one of the sides expected to go the distance and walk away with the glistening trophy under their arms, the Indian contingent have in their artillery an effervescent bunch of players who can wipe the floor with any side.
One of the biggest strengths that India have going into the alluring tournament is their delectable spin department. English pitches, (most recently in the just concluded Royal London Cup and England-Pakistan series) have showed how conducive they are going to be for strokeplay, and India’s spinners could turn out to be one of the biggest advantages that the side have at their disposal.
It’s a luscious three-man spin department for them, featuring leg-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and the finger spinner in Ravindra Jadeja. In between them, the trio posses an exquisite skill set and pristine work ethic that brings with it the ability to extract turn and spin on any given surface in the world.
As the team sits down amid hectic strategising and charting up its gameplan for the Cup, it is almost certain that India will be going in with the same identity that served them so stupendously in Australia and New Zealand. The duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal should be kept intact with their beleaguered showings in the IPL hardly playing a factor when it comes to the 50-over format.
And there’s a reason behind India earmarking so much trust in them as well. The two have persistently reposed the faith accorded on them by the team management over the last year with excellent displays to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Under the right tutelage of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, the two have been a perfect example of where the areas spinners need to pitch the ball in. The wrist spinners have been on the money, seeing the shape of the ball shaping across and away from the batsmen, enticing batsmen with their ominous flight and drift.
It’s especially their performances on overseas wickets that will see them undoubtedly being the main picks for India. Chahal scalped 5-22 against South Africa and 6-42 in the ODI series in Australia, while Kuldeep registered 6-25 to pummel England in the ODI series in their backyard in 2018. In tandem, the two become ever more deadly with a massive 43 wickets for Chahal and 60 to Kuldeep in the 28 ODIs they have traversed together.
However, it would be foolhardy for the Indian contingent to not give a second thought into playing Ravindra Jadeja. His showings in England, albeit in the Test format, were outstanding as he become one of India’s pivotal players in that series. Ever since being selected in India’s 15-man squad, Jadeja has become the focus of contemplation.
Is it time to shift the bedlam and opt towards an approach of one finger and one wrist spinner by roping Ravindra Jadeja into the setup? We take a look at which option would serve India most fruitfully when the world cup comes and why Jadeja deserves to be a mainstay in India’s playing XI.
Why Ravindra Jadeja?
Over the last one year, Jadeja has reignited his career with variations in his bowling. Initially just a bowler who offered little variation, bowling a fast brand of spin that was easy to send to the boundary, Jadeja has, today in his artillery, much more. Not only does he use his faster ones sublimely to skid onto the batsmen and leave them with no time in working around the ball, but he’s not afraid to toss up deliveries now, with him getting the ball to spin at a treacherous trajectory as well.
Today, Jadeja is a spinner known for his articulate accuracy and relentless wicket-to-wicket bowling. His restrictive line and length were on display in the recently concluded IPL as well as India’s series against Australia. He came to the fore in the fifth ODI at the Feroz Shah Kotla when he was brought on at a time when Australia were batting relentlessly. His first spell saw him get Aaron Finch with a ripper, one in which he gave away just 19 runs in 5 overs before coming back in his second to get rid of Maxwell.
England 2018 was the year that Jadeja started making his foray back into the international setup, that too in the longest format of the game. Obliterated by England in the Test series, the spinner was called up to hold fort in the batting department and give India the requisite spinning option. Called up for the last match, a determined Jadeja played a valiant 86, even as England’s bowlers wreaked havoc in India’s top-order.
That was coupled with a stellar bowling display, one where he picked up Keaton Jennings and Ben Stokes on the first day before getting Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler on the second day to return 4-79 in 30 overs.
His ability as an all-rounder were once against epitomised in the IPL against the Delhi Capitals where Jadeja followed up a 10-ball 25 with a ravishing bowling display of 3-9. He also joined the 100-wicket club this tournament, showing why he’s taken centrestage as one of CSK’s most reliable players over their stay in the tournament. Jadeja’s average of 18.85 in 2019 was his best in any year of the IPL.
Ravindra Jadeja And Kuldeep Yadav: A Possibility At The World Cup?
While Kuldeep Yadav has to be played despite a flummoxed IPL that saw him pick up just 4 wickets in 9 matches before subsequently being dropped, it’s Chahal on the other side who could be benched. Kuldeep has shown that with the right advice into his ears, he has the ability to mix up the deliveries and work batsmen up, with them consistently finding it tough to get under his deliveries.
Chahal, on the other hand, is someone who, for quite some time now, has proved to be a little too expensive. He does get wickets but that is more so a result of pressure being piled on from the other end with batsmen trying to take on Chahal subsequently. Chahal has also been guilty of erring in his line and length, bowling far too many wides and extras, and his lopsided deliverers can be easily peeled off to the stands.
Getting in Jadeja in Chahal place would only give India a two-pronged attack in the spinning department, but also offer the much needed strength to the lower middle-order. Especially with Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav in the middle-order, India are in dire need of someone who can come one in the death overs and play a more than incisive cameo alongside the number 8-11 batsmen.
Jadeja offers just that, an area which, alongside his rejuvenated spin, can see him make more than a fair share of a bid in cementing a playing spot.
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