3 Players who can replace Ravindra Jadeja in T20 World Cup

The Indian team suffered a major blow after news of Ravindra Jadeja’s serious knee injury surfaced on Friday. The dazzling all-rounder was ruled out of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament in the UAE, and it is speculated that he would also miss India’s T20 World Cup campaign in Australia later this year. Although it is almost impossible to replace a player of Jadeja’s quality in the team, here are three players who can replace the southpaw in the Indian squad for the ICC mega event.

Axar Patel

Axar Patel is the tailor-made replacement for Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian T20I squad. The man from Gujarat has been a pivotal part of the red-ball setup in the subcontinent but has resurrected his white-ball career with some impressive showings lately, especially with the bat, which was deemed his weak link. The left-arm spinner will face stiff competition for a place in the squad as veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is also in the reckoning for a spot in the starting XI.

Deepak Chahar

Not in the same mould as Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar can still do a pretty decent job for the Indian team with his all-around abilities. The 30-year-old pacer from Agra is exceptionally talented with the new ball in hand, something that will make him a handful in the Australian conditions later this year. Chahar is no mug with the bat either and has already displayed his run-scoring abilities in the shorter formats of the game for the Men in Blue in his nascent career.

Shardul Thakur

The man with the prized ‘Golden Arm’, Shardul Thakur has been at the centre of some of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket of late. The hard-hitting all-rounder might not be the most obvious choice to replace Jadeja in the team, but his happy knack for picking wickets at the most crucial of stages certainly puts his name in the reckoning. Shardul Thakur has not been as prolific in T20Is as the other two players on this list, but he has shown tremendous application for the national team in red-ball cricket and can be a reliable pinch-hitter down the order.