'Why would you pick a player like Jadeja?': Agarkar's 'surprising' act questioned as India star predicted to be snubbed
S Badrinath wondered what role Ravindra Jadeja will play in India's upcoming ODI series vs England, as well as the Champions Trophy.
India’s preparations for this month’s ICC Champions Trophy are set to reach their final stage, as a three-match ODI series against England paves the way for the upcoming tournament in Pakistan and the UAE. India, playing their first set of ODIs of the new year, will want to make sure they have the right combination heading into a tournament they will have intentions of winning.

With that in mind, former international batter and Chennai Super Kings star Subramaniam Badrinath was slightly surprised by the inclusion of one of his former teammates in the squad for this series and the Champions Trophy. With India going spin-heavy in their white ball matches under Gautam Gambhir, Badrinath wondered what role Ravindra Jadeja could play.
"There are a few spots which are a little bit tricky,” explained Badrinath on a preview show for Star Sports ahead of the first ODI against England. “I am honestly surprised Ravindra Jadeja is in the squad. I didn't expect him to be in the squad because there is very little space for him in the XI.”
Jadeja will likely contest for a spot against primarily Axar Patel, who has shown to be a potentially more reliable white-ball operator in recent months than his senior teammate. While Jadeja was in good form in the recent round of the Ranji Trophy, where he took 12 wickets vs Delhi, it remains unclear who Gambhir prefers as that primary spin-bowling all-rounder.
"So why would you actually take a player in the squad who might not feature in the actual playing XI? So that is a little bit tricky," said Badrinath.
‘Rohit likes him, has been backing…’
India’s spin combination is likely to be three players from a five-strong unit of spinners which includes Jadeja, Axar, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, and also Varun Chakravarthy following his recent inclusion.
Badrinath back Kuldeep Yadav to be the leader of the attack on his return from injury. "Rohit likes him. Rohit has been backing Kuldeep Yadav since he took over the captaincy. He does whatever the other spinners don't do,” explained the former CSK batter,
"He is brave. He is the best option to go to in the middle overs. We have seen many of these foreign teams. They find it hard to read a bowler like Kuldeep Yadav," he explained further. Kuldeep was an important player in India’s run to the ODI World Cup final in 2023, as well as the T20 World Cup triumph in 2024.
The India vs England series begins with the first match held at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on February 6.
