The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy have all been picked in India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming multi-team tournament. With such a strong unit, the problem of plenty in order to decide the right XI could become tricky, especially for head coach Ravi Shastri, captain Virat Kohli and mentor MS Dhoni.
Former India speedster Ashish Nehra has also shared his views on the same and reckoned one name that is certain and deserves a place in the final XI is of star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Nehra spoke about Jaddu’s recent few performances in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), stating that the left-handed player has done an incredible job for CSK and should be mentioned in the same breath as Dhoni, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.
Notably, in the first leg of the ongoing fourteenth season of the cash-rich league, Jadeja had smashed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowler Harshal Patel for record-equalling 37 runs in an over. Recently, Jadeja was at his best in a game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he led his team to a victory by scoring 22 runs off eight balls and bagging a wicket as well.
“With the ball, too, he was effective. He picked up an important wicket and gave just 21 runs in four overs. He displayed the same type of bowling which he is known for. And as far as batting is concerned, he has done exceptionally well in the last 2 years. He hit Prasidh Krishna for big blows to finish the match. We talk of MS Dhoni, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard, but even Ravindra Jadeja did the same thing today. He has performed well for CSK and in Tests with the bat. His batting is finally coming along nicely,” said Nehra on Cricbuzz.
The cricketer-turned-commentator asserted that while finalising the playing XI, the first name that would come in the minds of Shastri, Kohli, and Dhoni will be of Jadeja.
“It will become interesting to see whether India include Ravindra Jadeja ahead of them or as a third spinner. I would say that in the situations we have seen till now, he would be the first name on the minds of coach Shastri, captain Kohli and mentor Dhoni when it comes to deciding the XI,” the 42-year-old added.
However, Nehra also went on to mention that on the flat tracks, India would prefer playing Chakravarthy and Chahar over Jadeja.
“For the T20 World Cup, India have picked five spinners, so it remains to be seen. If there is assistance in the pitch, then Jadeja is a no-brainer. But if you have a flat pitch, they might play Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar,” Nehra added further.
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