Jadeja lends team balance: Chahal
VISAKHAPATNAM: Ravindra Jadeja’s ODI comeback was almost by chance. If not for injuries to Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel during the Asia Cup, the 29-year-old would have been playing for Saurashtra.
He flew into Dubai a day ahead of the Super-Four game against Bangladesh. Next day, he marked his ODI comeback after more than year with four wickets and a Man-of-the-Match prize. Jadeja went on to pick three wickets against Afghanistan, scored a crucial 23 in the Asia Cup final against Bangladesh and hit his maiden Test century against West Indies.
Jadeja’s resurgence has added the ODI squad dominated by wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal since the 2017 Champions Trophy. In fact, it was the youngsters’ rise that saw Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin lose their limited-overs spots.
With Jadeja back, the race for the spinners’ slot has hotted up. But Chahal feels Jadeja has added balance to the ODI team . “He has played close to 150 ODIs and his experience can’t be doubted. The Asia Cup was the first time I played with him and I would often go to him to clarify doubts. He always has a positive vibe and his comeback has given a balance to the team,” Chahal said in an interview ahead of the ODI series against West Indies.
The 28-year-old spinner said it was this experience that helped India dig deep in pressure situations in the Asia Cup. “Though we were without Virat bhai, our Asia Cup squad did not lack experience. Almost all the players had played at least 20-25 ODIs. It helped us in pressure situations especially during that tense chase against Bangladesh in the final. First, Ravindra Jadeja played well in the middle order, and then in the last over Kedar Jadhav kept his cool to take us through,” Chahal said. With Hardik Pandya slotted into the all-rounder’s slot in the past one year, Jadeja has given the option of a spin bowling allrounder as well. In the Guwahati ODI, he removed centurion Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell.
CONFIDENCE BOOST
Though West Indies no longer inspires awe, Chahal feels good performances would boost confidence ahead of the Australia tour, starting with a T20 on November 21.
“I agree that some of West Indies’ top players are not in the team but that’s no reason for us to take them lightly. Most of them have over 25 ODIs. I don’t bowl keeping in mind I have a lesser-known batsman in front of me, I bowl according to a plan. I see them as any other rival like England or Australia,” said Chahal, India’s top wicket-taker in the first ODI in Guwahati.
Chahal is confident India will do well in Australia. “If Steve Smith and David Warner were playing it would have been different. They are legends. Australia have not won an ODI series in more than year. In Tests also they have lost to Pakistan and South Africa. India will be favourites against them.”