Not dropped, selectors reassure Ravindra Jadeja he is only rested for Sri Lanka ODIs, Yuzvendra Chahal in list of back-ups: Report

When India’s ODI and T20I squad for the Sri Lanka tour was announced, there were a few notable omissions. Two of the senior players who did not make into any of the two squads were spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and leg-spinner Yuzvendral Chahal. While Jadeja has retired from T20Is, he did not make the cut in the ODI squad. On the other hand, Chahal who warmed the benches in T20 World Cup 2024, was dropped from the T20I squad under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav. So, is it the end of road for Jadeja and Chahal? 
 

Jadeja’s ODI future

It seems that the all-rounder has not fallen out of selectors’ radar. As per a report by ESPNCricinfo, Jadeja has not been dropped and only rested. He has been assured by the selectors about the same. However, the other reason Jadeja has been rested is to see if Axar Patel can play a similar role in ODIs like he did in T20 World Cup 2024. 
 

The selectors and the newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir don’t have many ODIs to see the team combination before next year’s ICC Champions Trophy and the Sri Lanka series is the stage they want to experiment at. 

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Meanwhile, Jadeja hasn't scored a half-century since December 2020. However, he was lethal with the ball in ODI World Cup 2023 taking a five-wicket haul against South Africa.

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Axar’s ODI numbers

On the other hand, Axar is yet to prove himself with the bat in ODIs. He has an average of 18.80 with 489 runs from 36 innings including just two fifties. His bowling average of 32.86 but economy rate of 4.53 makes him a good candidate to get through overs in the middle overs.
 

Chahal’s wait continues

It will be safe to say that Chahal is being considered one-dimensional by the selectors. He was the fourth spinner in India's T20 World Cup squad but warmed the benches. He can't bat and is not considered great in the field as well. His last T20I appearance was in August 2023 but he made it to the T20 World Cup squad after a successful Indian Premier League (IPL). With Ravi Bishnoi getting a nod ahead of him in T20Is, Chahal will have to wait for a rare chance to prove himself. 
 

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