Home
Recently retired Ravichandran Ashwin has proposed a changed batting order for Team India in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 which is slated to kick off from February 19. India's spin legend has particularly suggested chance in batting order of two of the Indian batters. R Ashwin feels Ravindra Jadeja should bat at No. 4 in the upcoming Champions Trophy. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin argued that batting Jadeja lower down the order underutilises his batting talent.
Ashwin expressed his preference for a batting order featuring Jadeja at No. 4, followed by Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel at fifth and sixth spot respectively. Currently, India's batting order typically sees Shreyas Iyer at No. 4, followed by KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya.
Ravindra Jadeja is not a number 7 batter: R Ashwin
Given that the Champions Trophy matches will be played in Dubai, there is a strong case for including an extra spinner in the playing XI, potentially at the expense of a specialist batter. While Ashwin did not explicitly state it, promoting Jadeja to No. 4 would likely necessitate the omission of Shreyas Iyer, another talented spin-hitter in the Indian team.
“I genuinely think Jadeja’s batting potential won’t come out much in one-day cricket. He’s playing very low. He is not a number 7. Even in Test cricket, for a long time, he has been playing in a batting position that pushes him to number 5. If you send him to number 5 and let him play under pressure in some games, even why not at number 4? I have thought about it,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“To let him play, we can give him an elongated number of games. Because you have all-rounders, top 5 bowlers, and top 6 bowlers, you have two of them, Hardik Pandya and Jadeja. As far as I know, both of them can bat anywhere from 4 to 7. This is my thought. I have always rated Jadeja very highly,” he added.
India have recently experimented with utilising spin-bowling all-rounders at the No. 4 position in the ODI format. In the recent series against Sri Lanka, Washington Sundar was employed in this role during the first match. This experimentation continued in the subsequent two ODIs, with Shivam Dube and Rishabh Pant being tried out at the No. 4 spot.
Ashwin strongly advocated for Ravindra Jadeja to be promoted to this position. He emphasized Jadeja's exceptional batting abilities, highlighting his impressive ODI record of 2756 runs at an average of 32.42. Although Jadeja has primarily batted at the No. 7 position throughout his career, maintaining a respectable average of 32.80 in 98 innings, Ashwin believes that utilizing his batting prowess higher up the order would be more beneficial for the team.
“A guy has been playing for so many years. In a big tournament, he has a chance to play well under pressure. In the IPL final, in the last over, he has to score 10 runs in 2 balls. He is showing consistently that he can stand up under pressure. If you send that guy to a big tournament at 4 or 5, what will happen? That is a big gamble. How big is a gamble really? Or what is a gamble? I don’t think there is such a thing,” Ashwin further stated.
“I don’t have any doubt about their pedigree. Maybe, it might not happen in the future. But I think that is a real [good option]. You think about it. Jadeja at 4. Hardik at number 5. When you ask what he will do at number 6, for example, everyone is saying that Axar can be a top 5 batter. So, Jaddu, Hardik, and Axar. Even if it is 4, 5, 6, three of them are giving all-round options. If you play a keeper-batter at number 7, all three of them, you are playing for South Africa, Hardik, Axar, and Jadeja. Are you going to face them? I am just giving you an example,” he added.
India's Champions Trophy squad:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja.
