Ravindra Jadeja’s India Career Over? BCCI Breaks Silence After Snubbing Him From India's Squad vs Afghanistan

Ravindra Jadeja snubbed from India Test squad [Source: AFP]

The BCCI officially released the squad for India’s Test and ODI series against Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 19. However, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was missing, raising speculations on his future.

Afghanistan will tour India next month for the one-off Test match and a 3-game ODI series. Hence, the selection committee gathered at Guwahati to pick the respective squads. 

For the Test squad, Shubman Gill has been retained as captain, but Rishabh Pant was sacked as vice-captain for KL Rahul.

Ravindra Jadeja rested for the IND vs AFG Test

Not only that, but senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was also snubbed from both the Test and ODI squads. This raised speculations around Jadeja’s future, as the 37-year-old is the only active red-ball player in his late 40s. 

However, chief selector Ajit Agarkar cleared the air. During a press conference, he confirmed that Jadeja was not dropped but rested for the Afghanistan bilateral series. Agarkar explained that Jadeja is in India’s red-ball plans, thus squashing retirement rumours.

Moreover, as for the 50-over format cricket, the management wants to assess alternative spin options in ODI cricket ahead of the South Africa tour, which influenced the decision to temporarily leave Ravindra Jadeja out.

“Ravindra Jadeja has been rested for the Test. He still remains an integral part of the Test team and remains our No 1 spinner. With regard to One-day cricket, we want to try and assess our options, particularly keeping in mind the conditions in South Africa,” Agarkar said.

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Jadeja’s recent form in Test

Out of the four senior-most players in the Indian Test setup, three took retirement following the last Border-Gavaskar series. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin bid farewell to red-ball cricket.

But Ravindra Jadeja was in no mood to call it quits anytime soon. He had his moment of resurgence during the England tour, where the all-rounder scored 516 runs, including key partnerships that saved the day for India.

Hence, given the value he provides as an all-rounder, India intends to prioritise his workload. By Ajit Agarkar’s statement, it is clear that Jadeja won’t be sidelined from Test cricket anytime soon, at least not for this WTC cycle.

Rishabh Pant sacked, Shami misses out

Meanwhile, India’s Test squad for the Afghanistan series had a couple of surprises. Rishabh Pant, as reported earlier, was sacked as vice-captain to relieve him of the pressure of leadership amid poor form.

Subsequently, KL Rahul was appointed as Gill’s deputy. Also, Mohammed Shami was snubbed as he continues to remain out of the selectors' priority list.

Ajit Agarkar claimed that Shami is currently only fit to play the T20 format. Hence, he wasn’t discussed for the Test and ODI squad selection.

Apart from this, Devdutt Padikkal has returned to the side and is expected to compete with Sai Sudharsan for the no. 3 spot.

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