On Sunday it was announced by the BCCI said, the veteran Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who wasn’t considered for selection for the second Test for just 70-80% fit, will be available for the third match of the series against Australia in Melbourne.

While the Indian skipper Virat Kohli spoke nothing about the injury after India lost the second Test by 146 runs, the head coach Ravi Shastri earlier disclosed that Jadeja wasn’t completely fit for the Perth Test. During the press conference, Shastri said, “Jadeja had taken an injection four days after coming to Australia because of some stiffness in his shoulder. It took a while for that injection to settle down. At Perth, we felt he was about 70 to 80 percent fit, and we didn’t want to risk him. If he is 80% fit here, he’ll play.”

Supporting Shastri’s statements, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) later release report which said that Jadeja had complained of a left shoulder discomfort after the conclusion of the ODI against Windies, but after undergoing a guided injection in Mumbai, the 30-year-old played a Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra and bowled 64 overs without any issues.

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BCCI’s press-release said, “After Jadeja flew to Australia, he then complained of a recurrence of his symptoms on 30th November during the match against the CA XI in Sydney. He was given another injection into a slightly different site on that day. This injection along with his rehabilitation program improved his symptoms.”

It further added, “In the lead up to the Perth Test match on 14th December, the management and the all-rounder were of the opinion that the intensity of his bowling in the nets could have been higher, to match the standards required for such an intensely fought series. For this reason, he was not considered for selection for the 2nd Test match. Mr. Jadeja’s left shoulder has continued to improve and he is now available for the 3rd Test match of the series in Melbourne.”

For the Boxing Day Test, the Indian team management also included Hardik Pandya and Mayank Agarwal to the squad for the remaining two Tests of the series which is currently leveled at 1-1. India is still sweating over the fitness of R Ashwin and it looks likely that they will play Jadeja in the third Test, starting December 26.