Jadeja remains part of India’s ODI plans, says Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar confirms that Ravindra Jadeja remains part of India's ODI plans despite being excluded from the upcoming Australia tour. He also discusses Hardik Pandya's injury rehab, workload management for key players, and the inclusion of new talents

Ahmedabad: Spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja continues to be part of India’s ODI plans, even though he has not been included in the squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar said on Saturday.

Jadeja, who hit the winning runs in India’s Champions Trophy final earlier this year, was excluded keeping in mind the conditions in Australia for the three-match ODI series.

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“To take two left-arm spinners to Australia is not possible, but he is clearly in the scheme of things with how good he is. But there will also be some competition for places,” Agarkar told the media after India’s squad announcement.

“He was in the Champions Trophy squad because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there. (But) we could only carry one (left-arm spinner) to get some balance in the team.”

“With Washy (Washington Sundar) and Kuldeep (Yadav) there in the squad, I don’t think we are going to need more than that in Australia. But he is clearly in the scheme of things, Jaddu, with how good he is, what he offers us as a batter and a bowler, but particularly in the field as well,” he added.

Agarkar said all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who suffered a quadriceps injury before the Asia Cup final, is set to begin his rehabilitation work.

“He is not going to be fit for the Australia tour due to the injury he picked up just before the finals in the Asia Cup. We will know in due course how long he will be away, but in a week’s time, he is supposed to be at the Centre of Excellence (COE), and once he starts his rehab, we will probably get better timelines,” he added.

Agarkar said Tilak Varma is “very close” to an ODI call-up, along with Abhishek Sharma, but at the moment, the top order is settled.

“Rohit (Sharma) and (Shubman) Gill are likely to open, and there is Yashasvi Jaiswal (as well). People tend to forget how good he is, and Tilak is very close,” Agarkar said.

“We have taken a 15-man squad as it is a three-match series. It is not like a Test series where you can carry a few extra players. You may not end up needing more than those, and you are not going to make too many changes in the three games you play, since it is a short series,” he added.

Agarkar said they will keep in mind the workload management of not just Jasprit Bumrah, who has not been picked for ODIs in Australia but is named in the T20I squad, but also Mohammed Siraj.

“There is always a plan. Whenever you can give him a break, you will, because we all know how important he is. But we have also got to see what is in the best interest of the team. And when we need him to play, he is always available. But we will look after him, not just him—Mohammed Siraj bowls a lot of overs as well. There are other guys who play Test cricket and will end up bowling a lot of overs, so we will try and manage all the seamers to minimise the risk of injuries,” he added.

Agarkar said the selection of Nitish Reddy in the ODI side was to see what the all-rounder has to offer in this format.

“Reddy has shown a lot of promise; we have seen more of him in Test cricket so far. It gives us an opportunity to see what he can do in white-ball cricket,” Agarkar said.

“We don’t have a lot of guys who can bat and bowl (fast) because it’s a difficult job to do both, and he certainly is showing promise. We will probably see more of him when he bowls in white-ball cricket and bats,” he added.

With Dhruv Jurel also getting his maiden call-up to the ODI side, Agarkar said it was more about finding the right man for specific positions.

“Sanju Samson bats at the top of the order, and when he got a hundred, he batted at No. 3, if I’m not wrong. Jurel usually bats lower down the order, and KL (Rahul) bats there as well,” he said.

“You have seen how good a player Dhruv is, so again, you are looking at spots. I don’t think there is room at the top, so we are looking at guys who can fit in those spots,” Agarkar said.

Agarkar also reiterated the BCCI’s diktat that Indian players must play domestic cricket whenever possible.

“We made it clear a couple of years ago that whenever the guys are available, they should be playing domestic cricket. That is the only way you will keep yourself sharp,” he added.