Injury-beleaguered India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will see himself on the sidelines of cricket until the end of the year. Due to the injury, he sustained at the Asia Cup against Hong Kong, he still has not fully recovered yet. As the injury takes longer to heal and continues to give him grief, he is poised to miss out on the Bangladesh tour too which entails Tests and ODIs.
The information coming in from BCCI sources is that the 33-year-old's injury convalescent period needs more time, spurring him to undergo rehabilitation at the NCA (National Cricket Agency) and will return to the fold by next year. With India set to miss Jadeja's services, they are looking for a like-for-like replacement to join the ranks of three designated spinners, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, left-arm spinner Axar Patel and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. The likely replacement to fill in for the all-rounder is expected to be Saurabh Kumar, the India-A bowler. Saurabh Kumar has been on the fringes of the Indian team as he was part of the Indian Test squad against Sri Lanka earlier this year and bagged a five-wicket haul against New Zealand A in an ‘A’ Test series in Bengaluru.
“Jadeja has been to NCA for his check-up and rehab on a number of occasions. However, as of now, it is unlikely that he will be fit for the Bangladesh series. In any case, Chetan Sharma-led former selection committee had kept him in the squad subject to fitness,” a BCCI source privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
However, there are murmurs and speculations that the new selection committee after the Chetan Sharma-led selection team got given the push, may have Surya Kumar Yadav on their minds who is currently without question the most exciting talent in the Indian white-ball set-up. SKY, 32, also expressed his interest in playing the longest and toughest format in a post-match press conference after India beat New Zealand in the penultimate T20I. The BCCI want to put SKY's red-hot form to good use and emulate his idiosyncratic if he can in red ball cricket. There is a high probability for the adventurous batter to see himself in the whites after being snubbed for the one-off England test match as Shreyas Iyyer was ahead in the pecking order.
The Men in Blue will lock horns against the Bangla Tigers for two Tests and three ODIs in Bangladesh, India will head to Bangladesh with a full-strength team with Rohit Sharma returning to test captaincy and the likes of Virat Kohli on board to emplane to the neighbouring South Asian country,
India will play two Tests -- December 14-18 in Chittagong and December 22-26 in Mirpur after a short three-match ODI series in the first week of next month.
India’s squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Yash Dayal.
India’s squad for Bangladesh Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravindra Jadeja*, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav
