Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar backs the left-hander Ravindra Jadeja’s batting performances ahead of the World Cup 2023.
Sunil Gavaskar Backs Jadeja Following his Dip in Form
India is currently playing in the ICC warmup games before competing in the World Cup 2023. On this occasion, the performance of the player Ravindra Jadeja raised concerns among the experts. But former Sunil Gavaskar was confident about the player and recalled the moments from the previous edition of the World Cup backing the player.
During the match against New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 at Old Trafford, India was down to the last four wickets needing a comeback to defend the bowling attacks. The cricket analyst Sanjay Manjrekar called Jadeja a “bits-and-pieces cricketer” which triggered Ravindra Jadeja to go berserk and almost won the match single-handedly for India. It was him chasing for runs while MS Dhoni opted for a more cautious approach during the match.
After throwing 10 overs during New Zealand innings, he gave only 34 runs with a wicket and took two catches and a run out. Jadeja went out and smashed 77 runs in 59 balls but with the dismissal of MS Dhoni, India lost the match in the semifinals in the last edition of the World Cup.
After this knock, Jadeja grew over the years and became the one of the most skilled cricketer. His wicket-taking ability was astonishing and his reputation in the field enhanced further. India used his batting skills in the missing line-up in the low-order batters. Jadeja’s numbers improved his 847 runs in 17 innings with an average of 49.82.
But recently, Jadeja’s batting form has raised questions before the World Cup 2023. His ODI form was a concern after his recovery from surgery. He was able to score only 189 runs in 12 innings which questions his strike rate.
Despite these figures, Sunil Gavaskar stresses the importance of underestimating Jadeja’s ability to turn the singles into doubles while rushing the wickets. Gavaskar said he is confident about the player despite his low performances.
“Not really. With the kind of experience that he has, it’s not a worry. The important thing is that he is such a fast runner between the wicket. Often, we overlook it… the fact that from the non-striker end, he helps the batter covert ones into twos.
“So, I think those are the little things that are important. So yeah, I am not worries after Ravindra Jadeja at all. He is a top player, a wonderful player… rockstar, like Shane Warne once said.”
Jadeja’s batting history in recent times may be concerning but cricket is full of surprises and Players will be doing some unbelievable during the match.
With India completing their warmup game against the Netherlands on October 3 they will be playing their first match in the World Cup Campaign against Australia on October 8 at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
