Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that Ravindra Jadeja didn’t live up to his potential in T20I cricket. He also stated that the spin-bowling all-rounder’s game seemed ideally suited to the T20 format but he didn’t do well, especially at the international level as well. However, India defeated South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados on Saturday, June 29 and won the T20 World Cup. Following that, Jadeja joined Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in announcing their T20I retirement as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Ravindra Jadeja – an interesting one actually because considering the sort of player he is, it seemed like he was cut out for T20 cricket. However, his numbers are not that good in T20 cricket, especially in international cricket, and this World Cup was also not like that. However, this is the way it is. At times, you are a part of a team that has the belief that Jaddu is there. So they kept faith in Jaddu and played him all the matches. In fact, this team used only 12 players in this entire campaign. He played a very important short knock in the semi-final. He didn’t do that well in bowling, there is no doubt about it.”
However, he also added that team management reposed faith in Jadeja throughout the tournament despite his poor form. Jadeja scored 35 runs, including an unbeaten nine-ball 17 in the semi-final against England, which came at an average of 11.67 in five innings in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He claimed a solitary wicket at an average of 106.00 and an economy rate of 7.57 in 14 overs as well.
“If we keep this World Cup aside, he has been good. He has been an incredible fielder. You might not get a better fielder than him in modern-day cricket. If you give favorable conditions, he bowls extremely well, and he has the batting might as well. Since he has bid goodbye to T20I cricket, I am not going to talk about the IPL final because he has also done the cometh the hour, cometh the man job as a big-match player. Like Rohit and Kohli, I think Ravindra Jadeja’s decision has also come at the right time,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
