'Jadeja shouldn't be left out at any cost': Gaekwad calls star all-rounder a 'triple-plus' for India at WTC final

A little less than three years ago, Ravindra Jadeja experienced a career renaissance. In-and-out of the team, the all-rounder was mostly picked in India's Test XI for matches played at home and would be left out whenever the team would play overseas. This continued for about a year and a half, that is, before Jadeja 2.0 emerged to the fore.

When India toured England in 2018 with Jadeja in the squad, he was left out of the XI in the first four matches, out of which India had lost three. But with R Ashwin's form tapering off and Hardik Pandya struggling to cement his place, Jadeja got the nod for the final match of the series at The Oval. Even though the series was lost, Jadeja responded in style, picking seven wickets in the match and striking an unbeaten 82 in India's first innings.

That knock marked the second-coming of Jadeja's international career. And he has not looked back since. The stats would complement. In the last three years, Jadeja's batting average in Tests has spiked to 55.57 – his overall is 36.18. Later that year, Jadeja peeled off his maiden Test century and followed it with a superlative 2019, where he tallied 440 runs from eight Tests. From being merely a supporting act to Ashwin, Jadeja has evolved to become a linchpin of India's unit across formats.

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If India indeed are trying their best to find a slot for Mohammed Siraj in the team as the fourth pacer for the World Test Championship final that starts Friday at the Ageas Bowl, Jadeja is likely to get the stick, for Ashwin is the team's premier spinner. In fact, several former cricketers have backed the theory and preferred Siraj over Jadeja, but former India batsman Anshuman Gaekwad is not one of them. Having served as coach of the Indian team and a chief selector of the BCCI, Gaekwad, believed to have one of the sharpest brains in Indian cricket, is confident that there is no way Jadeja would not make it to the XI, purely on the basis of what he brings to the table.

"[Ravindra] Jadeja shouldn't be left out at any cost. And why should he? He is such a huge asset to the team in all three departments. He is a triple-plus," Gaekwad tells Hindustan Times. "And I don't think that if three bowlers cannot do damage in English conditions, a fourth pacer will help. Three is good enough.

"And you need a spinner. Ashwin is a class spinner alright but with Jadeja in the team, he has to play. How many international teams have got quality left arm spinners? And here you have one, not only as a spinner but as a proven batsman and a brilliant fielder. What else do you want?"

Unlike New Zealand, India will head into the World Test Championship final on the back of no match practice. Since the IPL was halted indefinitely in the first week of May, the intra-squad match is all the players have participated, with hard quarantine rules in place. Gaekwad feels that although New Zealand have the edge having beaten England for a series win, the brand of cricket India have played in the last two Test series, count them out at your own peril.

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"India should have had some match practice like New Zealand. They've already played two Test matches so they are well-versed with conditions. That's an advantage they surely would carry. But at the same time, I won't cut out India's chances because they have played in England earlier and players know the conditions. But ultimately, knowing conditions isn't everything. They have played enough cricket in England," Gaekwad adds.

"I still feel India's recent record and attitude – the way they have won matches without main players in Australia and against England in India. They are high on confidence but hope it doesn't turn into overconfidence. I personally feel the first two days of the WTC final are going to be very vital."

India on Tuesday announced their 15-player squad for the WTC final, finally ending the suspense about their openers. Like the previous two Test series, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will once again have the responsibility of seeing off the new ball, which all said and done, will be no walk in the park. Especially for Rohit, who has played only one Test match in England dating back to 2014. Having said that, his Test career has turned over a new leaf since his promotion as opener, and Gaekwad expects Rohit to continue his bullish form.

"Rohit is different class. There's no question about him playing one match or 10. Once he gets going, he can murder any bowler. With his technique, the kind of shots and their selection, he has got plenty of time to play, which not many batsmen do. That's a huge advantage. The only thing he needs to do is concentrate and stay on. Just stay there on the wicket and last," he says.

If Rohit is expected to be India's key at the top, captain Virat Kohli is the star-studded mega-power-like figure around whom India's middle order will revolve. So far, Kohli has had two contrasting tours of England – 134 runs in 2014 and 593 in 2018. This time around, as Kohli seeks India's first series win in England in 14 years, the skipper would understand how important it is for him to lead from the front.

While there have been talks about his lack of centuries, or never winning an ICC event, the biggest concern which Kohli himself would be aware of is that he, like the rest of the players, doesn't have much game time behind him. But Gaekwad doesn't see this as a hindrance of any sort, dismissing the notions surrounding the India captain as 'nonsense'.

"I would put him in a similar class as Rohit. You can't say that he's a good batsman because he's a great batsman. There is a big difference between good and great. He is a man among boys. Anyone who feels that he will not get runs or score slowly or will not get centuries, all this is nonsense," he says.

"I'm sure with his batting prowess, he just needs a little bit of push. Yes, to keep it going you need to be in touch all the time, but that does not mean that you forget batting. It's like swimming. Even if you haven't swum in 10 years, you fall in the water and it just happens."

Besides Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara will also hold key to India's batting in the WTC final and the five-Test series. During the 2018 tour, Pujara scored 278 runs from four matches with one fifty and a century. But this time around, more than the number of runs, the pace at which Pujara has been scoring them, has been a hot topic of discussion. India's No. 3 batted with a strike-rate of 29.20 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, but more importantly got the job done. Like Sachin Tendulkar, Gaekwad too has backed Pujara for his style of batting, while underlining the positives of him being patient.

"To be very frank, everybody cannot be Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma. With his staying at the wicket, how many times has he converted small starts into big partnerships that helped India win matches? You need someone like him who's going to frustrate the bowlers. Plus, he is keeping one end intact. He is not letting the wickets fall, and the pressure to mount. There are a lot of advantages. I understand that he is slow but he gets his 60s and 100s time and again. You need someone like that in Test cricket," he added.

Overall, Gaekwad seems pleased with the composition of the squad but reckoned it would have looked a tad better with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the mix. Bhuvneshwar, who had played all five Tests during the 2014 series with a best of 6/82, was omitted from the tour of England, with Gaekwad believing the 31-year-old could have been a wonderful addition.

"It's a really balanced squad with a lot of options to pick and play in the XI. I think this is the best era of Indian cricket. Virat and Ravi Shastri are lucky that they have so many options – batting, bowling, all-rounders, wicketkeepers. All are equally good. I was a little disappointed with Bhuvneshwar not being there. It would have been ideal conditions for him in England," Gaekwad said.