India men's team's head coach Gautam Gambhir has called all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as someone who is not much-talked about given his contribution to the Indian cricket. Gambhir pointed out that Jadeja has been an indespensible part of the team across formats. He labelled him as one of the best all-rounders in the world.
"I've always felt that Ravindra Jadeja has always gone under the radar. I think he's someone who we don't speak highly about. See what he's done for Indian cricket. Be it Test format, be it T20I format or in 50-over format. I think he's very important to Indian cricket and what he's done. Not just with the bat or ball, in the field as well. He's, I think, one of the top all-rounders going around in world cricket," Gambhir said while speaking to the ICC.
"We, in the dressing room, know the value of Ravindra Jadeja. We feel that the importance of Ravindra Jadeja is what it is in the dressing room and not what happens outside the dressing room."
Jadeja got the opportunity to bat against New Zealand and scored 16 runs. He remained unbeaten in the run chase against Australia. He has been economical with the ball, not conceding more than 40 runs. He has bagged four wickets in the tournament so far, including two crucial wickets against Australia in the semifinal.
ALSO READ: Huge blow to Mumbai Indians, star player likely to miss two weeks of IPL 2025: Report
Shastri picks Jadeja for 'Player of the match' award in final
India are unlikely to make changes to their winning combination for the final. Meanwhile, former India head coach Ravi Shastri was asked to name the Indian players he would pick to win the 'Player of the Match' in the final against New Zealand. He picked Jadeja alongside Axar Patel.
“Player of the Match, I would go for an all-rounder. I'll say Axar Patel or Ravindra Jadeja from India,” he said in The ICC Review.
Jadeja's ODI record vs New Zealand
Jadeja has played 15 games against New Zealand and picked nine wickets at an average of 76.66. The southpaw has scored 377 runs from 12 innings at an average of 47.12 including a 77-run knock in the ODI World Cup 2019 semifinal in a losing cause.