Ravindra Jadeja is not at all dropped: Ajit Agarkar
Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar clarified that Ravindra Jadeja has not been dropped from the scheme of things in ODIs and will be considered for selection in the future. The former cricketer stated that it would have been pointless to include both Axar Patel and Jadeja for a short trip to Sri Lanka, especially when they offer almost similar services.
Jadeja has been an integral part of the team in all three formats of the game and has done a decent job in the ODI World Cup 2023 and later in the T20 World Cup 2024. Reminding that, Agarkar added that it wouldn’t have been fair to rotate him with Axar during the upcoming ODI series, which is why, the selection panel decided to give him a break.
Agarkar also talked about the upcoming 10 Test matches of India – five at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand and five against Australia later in the year and how this period can be used to manage Jadeja’s workload.
“I think it would have been really pointless to include both him (Jadeja) and Axar for this short series. We know what Jaddu does. He has had a terrific World Cup and the 50 World Cup, so he’s not at all dropped. I think all options are open, but it was either of them would have played all three games if we take a vote. So that was the thing. There’s a big Test season coming up, where he is likely to feature in a lot of the Tests,” Agarkar said in the press conference.
“I don’t think three games would have mattered. We should have clarified after the selection that he’s not being dropped. He’s still within the scheme of things, and very important as it is,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Indian team and the support staff will leave for Sri Lanka on Monday, July 22. Newly appointed assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate will directly join the team in Sri Lanka.
