Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has expressed concern over the form of Ravindra Jadeja after the first ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand. Chopra said Jadeja’s performance has declined and he is lagging behind Axar Patel in the race between the two left-arm spin all-rounders.
Team India started the ODI series against New Zealand with a four-wicket win in Vadodara on Sunday, January 11. The Men in Blue successfully chased the target of 301 runs with one over to spare. Jadeja had a quiet performance in the match, bowling nine overs, conceding 56 runs and failing to take a wicket.
With the bat, Jadeja hit one four in five balls before getting out. The left-handed batsman edged the ball from Kyle Jamieson straight to Christian Clarke at mid-on.
Akshar Patel is ahead of Ravindra Jadeja – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra shared his views on the all-rounder debate while reviewing the match. He said that if the ODI World Cup had happened now, Axar Patel would have been ahead of Ravindra Jadeja in the race for team selection.
“What’s going on with Jadeja? If you have a race between Jadeja and Axar Patel in white-ball cricket, I think Axar is ahead. He is winning this race. He has been made the T20I vice-captain once again,” Chopra said.
“Even in ODI cricket, if the World Cup was starting tomorrow and the Indian team had to choose one of the two spinners, India would have picked Axar Patel because Ravindra Jadeja is playing but he is not contributing,” he said.
Jadeja took one wicket in the last four matches – Aakash Chopra
Chopra said Jadeja has struggled to make an impact with both bat and ball in recent ODI matches. He pointed out that Jadeja has taken one wicket in his last four matches and has not completed his entire bowling quota in any of those games.
“In bowling, in the last four matches, he took one wicket against South Africa and got no wickets here. I don’t think he has completed his quota of overs even once. In batting, you also send him at No. 5, so that he can get ahead of KL Rahul, but not a lot of runs are being scored. I wouldn’t judge him by one innings, but that’s not right,” he said.
Ravindra Jadeja’s recent performance is a bit questionable – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra said that he has a lot of respect for Ravindra Jadeja, but his recent ODI performances have not been up to his previous standards. The former cricketer also revealed that India is unlikely to have more than one left-arm finger spinner playing in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
He said, “Ravindra Jadeja’s recent performance is a bit of a doubt. I am saying it as I see it. I have a lot of respect for Jadeja. He is an excellent player and has served Indian cricket a lot, but at the moment, he is not getting it right yet in ODI cricket.”
“Let’s be honest and fair, come to South Africa, you will be able to take only one left-arm spinner. This is not Dubai. This is not the Champions Trophy where you can take four spinners and play three. You will be able to play only two there. So the next two matches are going to be very important from Jadeja’s point of view,” Chopra said.
Ravindra Jadeja’s performance in ODIs last year has been mixed. He scored 106 runs in seven ODI innings at an average of 53.00. With the ball, he took 12 wickets in 10 ODI innings at an average of 33.41.
Also read: Revealed: Why was Axar Patel not selected in place of Washington Sundar for New Zealand ODI?
