Anubhav Katheria
BCCI recently announced the T20 and ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour. Many bold decisions were made by the Indian selectors, where not picking Ravindra Jadeja in the ODI squad was one of them. After Jadeja’s exclusion from the squad there were many speculations that the ODIs are over for Ravindra Jadeja, and he will remain part of the Indian team only for Test cricket.
There were reports that selectors have moved on from him and have found a perfect replacement for Jadeja in the form of Axar Patel. Which can be true for T20 since Jadeja announced his retirement from the format, but can Axar be a right choice for ODIs in place of Jadeja?
Jadeja’s performance with bat and ball is consistently poor in the recent times, while Axar Patel who was phenomenal with both bat and ball in the T20 World Cup has impressed everyone in the short format but his performance in the ODIs has not been very impressive. Axar in 2023 played 11 ODIs where he did struggle with the bat and the ball, he only managed to score 140 runs in 11 matches and took only 5 wickets. On the other hand, Jadeja played 26 ODIs in 2023 where he scored 309 runs at an average of 30.90 and took 31 wickets which is also not impressive from a batting perspective, but he was excellent with the ball.
Can Axar be the Perfect replacement for Jadeja in ODIs?
Axar’s performance in the ODIs is not so good, he has a batting avg of 18.80 and he is not a player who plays longer innings. We have seen Jadeja play longer innings many times. He has played an anchor role in many important matches, and this would be a challenge for Axar in the ODIs. Jadeja is a player who will perform if not with the bat, he will perform with the ball if not with ball he will do some magic with his fielding. As of now Jadeja is not replaceable by any other all-rounder in ODIs.
Will Jadeja Play in the Champions Trophy in 2025?
The concerning part in the exclusion of Jadeja from the Sri Lanka Tour was that he will be a part of the 2025 Champions Trophy squad, or selectors have moved on from him. India will play only 6 ODIs before the Champions Trophy in February, will Jadeja get a chance in any one of them or Axar and Washington Sundar will be chosen ahead of him, are some questions everyone is asking now.
However, there are reports that Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar and India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has told Jadeja that he remains India’s first and best choice for spin bowling all-rounder and according to the sources Jadeja has not been dropped from the ODIs instead he has been rested for the Sri Lanka tour and will join the team in upcoming assignments, selectors just wanted to try Axar in ODIs to see if he continues to impress as he did in the T20I World Cup.
