Gill explains why Ravindra Jadeja was rested against West Indies

India captain Shubman Gill clarified that Ravindra Jadeja was rested, not dropped, for the third ODI against the West Indies. With the series already secured, Gill said the decision allowed other players to gain valuable game time and experience

New Chandigarh: India captain Shubman Gill highlighted that Ravindra Jadeja was ‘rested’ and not ‘dropped’ for the third ODI against the West Indies to give other players a chance to play in what was largely an experimental 50-over series, especially for the bowlers.

With an unassailable 2-0 lead, Jadeja was among the three players India changed for the dead rubber against the Windies at the PCA International Cricket Stadium, which they lost by five wickets after failing to defend 351. Prasidh Krishna missed out due to a hamstring injury, while Auqib Nabi was also left out after a tough debut in the second match.

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The Men in Blue handed an ODI debut to Anshul Kamboj, who replaced the injured Prasidh in the squad for the third match, while also fielding Mohammed Siraj for the first time in the series and bringing back Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Speaking after the five-wicket loss to the Windies, Gill highlighted that Jadeja wasn’t dropped; rather, he was rested to give others an opportunity to test themselves.

“Firstly, I don’t think Jaddu bhai was dropped. We rested him because we had an opportunity today to give game time to other players. When a series is only three matches long, it becomes very difficult to give experience to players sitting outside,” Gill said in the post-match press conference.

He added that the management’s discussions with the selectors on the playing combination would revolve around the skill sets required for the African conditions, where the ODI World Cup 2027 will be played.

“Going forward, our discussions with the selectors, with the World Cup in mind, will be to keep those players in the squad who can provide us more with their skill sets,” he said.

Gill also spoke about senior batters Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul doing well.

“They’ve been batting really well. Rohit bhai, in the last four innings, he has made a few hundreds. He has been batting really well, and so has Virat bhai and even whenever KL has got the chance, he has done the work for the team; he has put in the effort and has batted brilliantly,” Gill said further.