Ravindra Jadeja has been out of action for Team India, having been prone to injuries of late. However, he has completely recovered and is playing for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy as he prepares for his national comeback.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be captaining Saurashtra in its final Ranji Trophy league match versus Tamil Nadu, commencing in Chennai on Tuesday. It would also mark his return to professional cricket after nearly six months. Though Saurashtra is set to qualify for the knock-outs, Jadeja's retrieval has generated quite some interest in the contest ahead of the critical four-Test series versus the visiting Australia next month for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The four-day fixture will be a fitness test for Jadeja. Also, considering the net session on the game's eve is any sign, the 34-year-old is expected to depart with flying colours.
Sporting a GPS tracker and monitoring all the required fitness parameters, Jadeja bowled left-arm spin for half an hour before spending about the same time with the bat. A National Cricket Academy (NCA) coach is also in Chennai to track the all-rounder's advancement. After playing his last competitive game in the Asia Cup in August in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he had knee surgery.
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Talking to PTI, Saurashtra coach Niraj Odedra said that Jadeja was bleeding with power in his maiden training session with the squad. "He is very pumped up, and it showed in the nets today. He wanted an even more extended session, but since he is coming from injury, he mustn't overdo it," he stated.
"Before spending an hour in the nets, he [Jadeja] gave a pep talk to the boys. Since he reunited with the team after a long time, he was keen to interact with the boys and congratulate us on our recent success in white-ball cricket [Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph]. With JD [Jaydev Unadkat] being rested for the game, we asked him if he could captain the side, and he happily agreed," declared Odedra.
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"He [Jadeja] takes great pride in playing for Saurashtra and wants everyone in the team to feel the same way. He also told the team that there is no senior or junior on the side and everyone is equally important. He is a big player, and we all are excited to have him back," Odedra concluded. Like Unadkat, Cheteshwar Pujara is also resting from the contest as part of workload management ahead of the vital Australia series, which India has to win to qualify for the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship final.
(With inputs from PTI)