New Delhi. The wind of change is blowing in Indian cricket. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has led India to many historic victories with his bat, ball and brilliant fielding over the years, may not be seen in the blue jersey on the ODI cricket field again. The Chief Selection Committee has made its stand completely clear keeping in mind the upcoming ODI World Cup. They are now all set to promote Axar Patel as the main spin-bowling all-rounder of the team in place of Ravindra Jadeja.
According to a report in ‘The Times of India’, the ODI journey of Ravindra Jadeja, who has a great experience of 210 ODI matches, has now reached its final stage. The biggest and immediate reason for this change is the continuously improving performance of Axar Patel. In the first ODI match played against England in Birmingham, Akshar wowed the crowd with his all-round game and was chosen ‘Player of the Match’. In this match, Akshar showed amazing performance with both ball and bat.
Is Ravindra Jadeja’s ODI career over?
While bowling first, he used the magic of his spin and took 4 wickets for 62 runs, which is the best bowling performance of his ODI career. After this, when the team needed a sensible innings during the run chase, he batted brilliantly and scored an unbeaten half-century and gave India an easy victory by six wickets. This performance has further strengthened the confidence of the selectors that Akshar is now ready to take up big responsibilities.
Change in team composition and helplessness of Kuldeep Yadav
A big change has also been seen in the strategies of Indian team management in recent times. Especially on foreign pitches, like the current England tour, India is fielding without any specialist frontline spinner. The result of this is that despite being in excellent form, Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav has to constantly spend time sitting on the bench.
The team management is reluctant to include Kuldeep in the playing eleven because he does not offer much option of batting in the lower order. Amidst the shortage of spin-bowling all-rounders, the team needs a player at number seven who can contribute fully in batting as well as bowling. This is the reason why the captain and coach have handed over the responsibility of the spin department to the young all-round pair of Akshar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Why was ‘Sir Jadeja’ left behind?
The question arises that why Ravindra Jadeja was left behind in this race? According to the report, the selectors are no longer in favor of seeing Jadeja as their first choice spinner in the ODI format. A BCCI source said on the condition of anonymity, ‘Jadeja’s bowling in limited overs cricket has not been as per expectations for a long time. He was recently included in the Champions Trophy 2025 squad only because the Indian team hoped that the pitches in Dubai would prove helpful for the spinners. Apart from this, the source also added that Jadeja’s aggressive batting for which he was known has also been affected. The kind of power-hitting and finishing Jadeja was doing during the 2019 ODI World Cup is no longer at that level.
Statistics also testify to this. Jadeja’s performance in the recent ODI series played against New Zealand was very disappointing. In that three-match series, which India lost 2-1, Jadeja could score only 43 runs. During this period, his batting average was only 14.33 and his strike rate was also only 66.15, which is much lower than the standards of modern ODI cricket.
Akshar Patel also faces big challenges
However, the road ahead is not going to be entirely easy for Axar Patel either. While on one hand he has shown excellent performance on spin-friendly pitches, his performance on fast and bouncy pitches like South Africa still remains a matter of concern. Akshar has been struggling to prove himself in the limited ODI opportunities he has got in South Africa. In the three matches played there, he was able to score only eight runs with the bat and also got only one success in bowling. In such a situation, how Akshar adapts himself in foreign and challenging conditions in the upcoming World Cup, this will be the biggest test for the Indian team.
The history of Indian cricket is witness to the fact that change always comes with tough decisions. It is not easy to compensate for what Ravindra Jadeja has given to Indian cricket. But looking at the future needs and team balance, it seems that the Indian think tank is now looking beyond the Jadeja era and finding its new hope in Axar Patel.
