Chief selector MSK Prasad gives reason behind Kedar Jadhav’s exclusion after player expresses shock

Jadhav was surprised when told by journalists that he wasn’t in the 15-member squad, which was named while the Deodhar match was still on.

When the Indian selectors announced the squad for the remaining matches of the ODI series against West Indies, there was one glaring omission from the side. Kedar Jadhav, who had hobbled his way to hitting the winning runs for India in the Asia Cup, was not part of the squad and this left the player stunned.

File picture of Kedar Jadhav (AFP)

However, chief selector MSK Prasad has said that the selection panel was not very convinced with Jadhav’s history of fitness and hence, they decided to give him more time.

“We did not pick Kedar because of his history of fitness. There have been occasions earlier when he has come back fit and then broke down, a case in point being the Asia Cup last month,” Prasad told PTI after announcing the 15-man squad.

“Actually, we were thinking that if India A won today, then Kedar would have got another match, which would have given us a fair assessment of his match fitness. Maybe we could have added him as an additional player (in Indian team) before the fourth ODI as the Deodhar final is on Saturday. Players need to understand that there is a process that we follow while selecting the team,” he added.

Jadhav himself expressed surprise at the decision at the post-match conference in Delhi where he played for India A.

“Let’s see. You are the first one to tell me this. I need to see why they have not picked me. I don’t know what the plan is now that I am not there in the team. Probably, I will be playing the Ranji Trophy,” he said.

After a tied encounter in Vizag, India and West Indies face off for the third ODI against Windies on October 27 in Pune.