When chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the squad for ODI series on Australian soil, Ravindra Jadeja was one of the notable omissions. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025-winning all-rounder Jadeja wasn’t named in Rishabh Pant-led India A squad for two four-day games against South Africa A. But, Jadeja will play the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 clash against Madhya Pradesh at home which will commence on October 25 at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot.
"He is expected to play in the next match," a Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) official told Cricbuzz.
After the two-Test series against West Indies where Jadeja was named ‘Player of the series’, head coach Gautam Gambhir had stressed on the importance of playing domestic cricket. Since Jadeja will have a big break between the two Test series, he made himself available for one Ranji match to keep himself match-ready for the two-Test series against South Africa starting on November 14 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
The no.1 Test all-rounder's previous appearance in Ranji Trophy was in the 2024-25 season against Assam. One of the two games he played in that season, he claimed 12 wickets against Delhi and was adjudged 'Player of the match'.
Saurashtra begin with a draw
In their campaign opener, Jaydev Unadkat-led Saurashtra took on Mayank Agarwal's Karnataka in Rajkot. Karnataka set a target of 229 but the match ended in a draw. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was adjudged 'Player of the match' for taking 10 wickets, featuring a seven-fer in the first innings. He dismissed the likes of Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal and Karun Nair.
Milestone awaits Jadeja in South Africa series
Jadeja is currently India's fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests. From 87 Tests, he has 338 wickets. He needs 12 more wickets to join the elite list of left-arm spinners with 350 Test wickets. Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath has 433 wickets followed by New Zealand's Daniel Vettori with 362 wickets.
Saurashtra’s current Ranji squad:
Harvik Desai (wk), Tarang Gohel, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Sammar Gajjar, Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani, Prerak Mankad, Jaydev Unadkat (c), Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya, Ansh Gosai, Jay Gohil, Parth Bhut, Kevin Jivrajani, Hetvik Kotak and Ankur Panwar.