Ravindra Jadeja close to regaining full fitness ahead of West Indies series

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been away from cricket since India’s T20I series against New Zealand. He didn’t travel to South Africa as well and the team missed him a lot in both Test and One-Day series which India lost. However, it has been reported that Jadeja is nearing full fitness with the squad set to be announced in next 24-48 hours for the upcoming West Indies series at home.

Jadeja suffered a knee injury during the Test series against the Kiwis at home in December and has been away from the game since then. Given his credentials, it has become very tough for the team to find an able replacement for him. The southpaw has improved his batting immensely especially in Tests while his bowling and fielding was always top notch.

Ravindra Jadeja getting fully fit will be a huge boost for India who struggled as a team on South Africa tour. “Jadeja is very close to being absolutely fit. He is definitely in contention to play in the home season when West Indies and Sri Lanka come to India,” a source said according to the Times of India.

Hardik Pandya to be considered for selection

A report in the Times of India also stated that fast bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya will also be considered for selection for the upcoming series. He has been working on his fitness since the T20 World Cup and hasn’t played a single competitive game. However, in a recent interview with Boria Majumdar on his show, Hardik conceded that he is working on getting fully fit and wants to play for India only as an all-rounder.

“I want to play as an all-rounder. If something goes bad, then I don’t know but my preparations are all about playing as an all-rounder. I am feeling good, feeling strong and eventually, the time will say what happens,” Hardik said. India will be relieved if the likes of Hardik and Jadeja are available for selection as Rahul Dravid recently had mentioned that the team missed the players who lent balance to the XI.