The veteran Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been missing competitive cricket from the Asia Cup last September to undergo right knee surgery, will be seen playing for Saurashtra in the final round of the Ranji Trophy fixture against Tamil Nadu in Chennai beginning January 24.
The 34-year-old, who is currently doing rehab at the National Cricket Academy, has been included in a 17-member squad for the first couple of Tests in the highly-anticipated four-match series against Australia scheduled to be commencing in Nagpur from February 9. However, his availability is subject to fitness as a call on Jadeja is likely to be taken during the course of the four-day game.
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As per the quotes in PTI, Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah said, “It will be good if he plays for Saurashtra. Probably he will, but I don’t have any further details.”
Ravindra Jadeja, named in India's Test squad to face Australia, is likely to play a Ranji Trophy match as he makes his return from an injury layoff https://t.co/h0lAkujrvD pic.twitter.com/lV13HWy3s8
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 14, 2023
Ravindra Jadeja has not played any competitive cricket since the T20I against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup 2022 and his previous first-class match was the rescheduled one-off Test at Edgbaston against England last July.
As per the recent reports, Ravindra Jadeja reportedly has started to bowl and bat since earlier this week as he will soon be finishing his rehab at the NCA. The left-handed all-rounder has often been touted as a vital cog in India’s line-up, especially in absence of Rishabh Pant at No 5 or 6 in the middle order.
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Ravindra Jadeja’s left-arm spin could also come in handy along with the premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the four-match series that will be determining India’s fate to make a successive World Test Championship final appearance. In their 2016-17 series against Australia, Jadeja played a key role to be adjudged the Player-of-the-Series with 25 wickets and 127 runs as India came from behind to seal a memorable 2-1 win.
