Ravindra Jadeja puts up cryptic Test jersey post amid uncertainty over ODI future
Ravindra Jadeja has put up a rather cryptic post on his Instagram stories just days before the announcement of the Indian squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has put up a rather cryptic post on his Instagram stories amid reported uncertainty over his ODI future. There have been reports of the Indian cricket thinktank considering looking beyond the 36-year-old for the upcoming 2025 ICC Champions Trophy after he was largely ignored as a bowler in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Jadeja posted a photo of the back of his Test jersey with his shirt number ‘8’ on it. The font is in pink, suggesting it was what he wore on the third and final day of the fifth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. As has been the norm for about two decades, it was the Jane McGrath Day at the ground and the two teams featured pink fonts on their whites. Jadeja was also among the Indian players who presented their pink caps to Australia bowling great Glenn McGrath before the start of the day.
Jadeja played three of the five Tests that India played in the series. His selection was more for his batting skills and he scored 135 runs at an average of 27 in the lower middle order while taking four wickets. India lost the series 3-1, thus conceding the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia for the first time in a decade.
Question mark over Ravindra Jadeja's future
Jadeja announced his retirement from T20Is along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. A Times of India report has now emerged suggesting that Jadeja’s future could be in jeopardy, with the BCCI set to assess his role in the upcoming international seasons. According to a source quoted in the report, the BCCI selection committee is actively considering looking beyond the veteran spinner.
“It's all about when the selectors decide the transition needs to kick in,” the source said. “They will discuss if they want to go with a safe option in (Ravindra) Jadeja or move on right now.”
Despite being an established name in India’s Test and ODI setups, Jadeja’s performances have been under the microscope, especially in the shorter formats. “Even in Test cricket, he has struggled to get going, though his bowling has been steady,” the source added. “There is an urge to move on from him, especially in the ODI format. It will be a tough call in the coming days.”
Widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, Jadeja formed one half of the spin-bowling duo with Ravichandran Ashwin that fuelled India's unprecedented dominance at home in Tests between 2012 and 2024. He has taken 323 wickets in 80 Tests at an average of 24.14 and strike rate of 57.10 with 15 five-wicket hauls. Jadeja has also scored 3370 runs at an average of 34.74 with four centuries and 22 half-centuries. In 197 ODIs, Jadeja took 220 wickets at an average of 36.07 and scored 2756 runs at an average of 32.43 with 13 half-centuries.
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