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India's veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is in the twilight period of his cricket career. It has been two years since he retired from T20Is following the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. Jadeja has been in and out of the ODI setup, whereas he has been a regular in Test cricket. Jadeja wasn’t picked for the five-ODI series against New Zealand, and his former India and Saurashtra teammate Cheteshwar Pujara believes that it might be the end of the road for the all-rounder in ODIs. Pujara believes that the team management has made it clear that Axar Patel will be their left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder for the ODI World Cup 2027.
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"I believe so, because if you want to keep Ravindra Jadeja in ODI cricket, then he should have been selected. I'm sure it was communicated to him that he might not be selected because Axar Patel has been the main all-rounder in ODI cricket and is being given more opportunities.
"Looking at his age, I feel the team management might have told him that he is now only a part of Test cricket, so he should focus there, and that they are not looking at him for white-ball cricket.
“So, it could be the end of the road because, obviously, he has retired from T20 Internationals. I feel he might not be selected just for the ODIs," Pujara told JioStar, as quoted by news agency IANS.
Jadeja not certain after 5 ODIs in 2026
But Jadeja has played five ODIs this year. In the series against the Kiwis at home, he couldn't take a single wicket and contributed with scores of 4, 27, and 12. In the home ODI series against West Indies, he played two games as Axar was not available for selection. Axar was in India’s Asian Games 2026 gold medal-winning T20I side and missed the ODI series against West Indies. Jadeja claimed two wickets from two appearances and did not get to bat against the Caribbean side.
Pujara sees Jadeja in India’s ODI World Cup 2027 squad only on one condition. If Axar an injury rules Axar out of the mega event, Jadeja may turn out to be their 'insurance policy'.
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"Jaddu might not come back into the team, but if someone gets injured, the first name that will come to mind will be Jaddu. Because after Axar, there is no one.
"The valid question right now would be: After Axar, who is the frontrunner? Currently, the frontrunner is Axar Patel, and after him, Jaddu is still your insurance policy. If something happens to Axar Patel before the World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja will come into the team," he said during the same conversation.
Jadeja vs Axar’s ODI numbers in South Africa
The last time Jadeja played an ODI series on South Africa soil was in 2013. He scored 55 runs from two innings. The left-arm spinner bagged just one wicket in the series.
Axar has played three ODIs in South Africa as well on the previous tour in 2023. In two innings, he managed just seven runs. With the ball, he bagged just one wicket. His economy rate was impressive at 4.37 runs per over.
Jadeja’s last ODI fifty came in 2020
The last time Jadeja scored a half-century in ODIs was in 2020 against Australia in Canberra. Nearly two and a half dozen innings later, he does have another ODI fifty. He has scored in the 30s a few times, reached 40s once but could not cross the fifty-run mark.
Meanwhile, Axar's previous half-century came against England, an unbeaten 57 in the run chase. In the same game, he claimed a four-fer as well.
Jadeja's overall ODI record
The 37-year-old has played 212 ODIs and scored 2,905 runs from 142 innings at an average of 32.27 and a strike rate of 85.54. He has 13 fifties but has yet to score his maiden ODI century. With the ball, he has 234 wickets, averaging 36.78, featuring two fifers and seven four-wicket hauls.
Axar's ODI record
Axar is yet to score 1,000 runs in his ODI career. In 74 ODIs, he has scored 918 runs from 52 innings at an average of 23.53 and a strike rate of 92.26. He has gone past the fifty-run mark four times in ODIs. He has 80 ODI wickets to his name at an average of 32.73, including a four-wicket haul.
Axar will be seen playing the ODI series against the Kiwi side from November 4 to 15. This will be the first time he will be playing an ODI series on New Zealand soil.
Jadeja gears up for red-ball cricket
So far, it is not clear whether Jadeja will turn up for the third and final unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A. The two-Test series begins on November 19 in Wellington. He has played three Tests on New Zealand soil, scoring 107 runs without a fifty. He took five wickets in three Tests.
Before the Test series, Jadeja played two Ranji Trophy 2026-27 games. He scored a century against Chhattisgarh and took three wickets. He departed early against Assam and took two wickets each in both innings.
India’s updated ODI squad for the first three ODIs:
Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy (only for the first ODI), Auqib Nabi.
India’s ODI squad for fourth and fifth ODIs:
Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav.
India’s Test squad vs New Zealand:
Shubman Gill [C], Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul [VC], Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant [WK]*, Dhruv Jurel [WK], Ravindra Jadeja, Anshul Kamboj, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj.
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