Ravindra Jadeja is ready to return for the Boxing Day test after passing a fitness test
Ravindra Jadeja is set to return to India XI for the Boxing Day test after passing a fitness test on Thursday (December 24) evening. The off-roader is likely to hit No. 7 and significantly strengthen India’s bowling attack on a MCG field, where visitors could do well with some firepower to take terrain. As a result, Jadeja will end up as a rather unlikely replacement for Captain Virat Kohli, who returned home for the birth of his first child.
He will be joined by Rishabh Pant, who will take over the gloves from Wriddhiman Saha and is expected to enter No. 6, while Shubman Gill makes his test debut at the top of the order in place of Prithvi Shaw. There will be another rookie for the visitors on Saturday (Dec 26) in the form of Mohammad Siraj or Navdeep Saini with the Hyderabad closer apparently in pole position to get the nod. India has chosen not to have an optional training session on Christmas Day, after having sweated rigorously for the past two days. And for the moment, it seems certain that Hanuma Vihari will retain his spot and hit No. 4, as he did in all four innings of warm-ups, with KL Rahul remaining on the bench.
There had been promising signs that Jadeja was back in top form since the beginning of the Adelaide Test. He had gone from running to sprinting to hitting in the nets and even having a bowl in the middle before the start of the game on the last day of the game. He has been the most active member of the Indian contingent, meanwhile, in Melbourne, bowling for long periods and then having multiple periods with the bat.
He was among the first group of hitters in the nets on Thursday and spent a good half hour facing everyone present. Then he immediately removed his batting gear and began swinging his left arm alongside R. Ashwin and Vihari. And Jadeja stayed like that for over an hour. It was when the rest of the team, including the head coaches who had a long discussion on the sidelines towards the end of the practice session, left that Jadeja resurfaced with two of the fitness coaches. It was not a complicated affair and mainly involved getting the off-roader to do a few sprints up and down the field. Jadeja, generally the fastest between terrains on the Indian team, looked at his best speed and with no visible discomfort. The 7-8 minute session ended with him galloping back and forth for three virtual races, all in the space of 8-9 seconds. He then left the scene with a big smile on his face, while the two coaches seemed equally pleased with his performance.
Jadeja had injured her hamstring during the first S20I in Canberra on December 4, minutes before she received a blow to the helmet from a Mitchell Starc birth that caused a concussion. At the time, the team’s management had recommended a three-week recovery period, which now appears to be complete.
The inclusion of the 32-year-old strengthens the Indian team in many ways, of course. As they look to shed the horrors of 36 at the Adelaide Oval last week and the loss of Kohli, the left-hander’s entrepreneurial approach to the bat will add much-needed energy to the middle order. Not forgetting that Jadeja has averaged 53.30 with the bat in 14 Tests in the last 3 years. He also looked in sensational hitting form during the white-ball leg of the tour before the unfortunate injury at the Manuka Oval. He has also hit the ball quite well in MCG’s nets over the last few days.
Hitting debacle aside, India’s chances were also taken a crippling blow, literally, when Mohammed Shami suffered a broken arm courtesy of a rising delivery from Pat Cummins. With Shami set to be replaced by a rookie, Jadeja not only brings a lot of experience to the table with the ball but also some fond memories of his last outing at MCG. Jasprit Bumrah may have walked away man-of-the-match honors in 2018, but he received a lot of support from the left arm spinner. Jadeja was in an economy of 1.8 in figures of 2/45 in 25 overs during the first inning before taking three crucial wickets in the second as India won by 137 runs.
His return will also bring much needed intensity to the field that India lacked despite its impressive bowling display in Adelaide. Your presence alone will not solve India’s catching problems on this tour, but I would expect it to set and raise the bar as it always does. While MCG’s pitch showed more life than usual last year for the New Zealand Test, India won’t mind having five specialized bowlers against an ever-improving Australian batting lineup.
Energy and intensity is what India hopes Pant will also bring to the party. The Delhi southpaw was the last person to leave the net, having spent a great deal of time hitting under the watchful eye of coach Ravi Shastri. The two were also constantly exchanging notes, and Shastri did not get too involved in technical discussions, like the ones he did with Mayank Agarwal and Rahul. He didn’t need it either, as Pant continued to time and hit the ball with great fluidity. His longest vigil came at the fast pitcher net where Saini threw with great fire and pace and T Natarajan with great cunning. There were some false shots; at one point, Pant berated himself with “cover drive kyun maara “-but most of the time he hit them well enough to please the coach and himself. He ended his term facing a barrage of ever shorter deliveries from takedown specialists. And it took Shastri to cancel the session when the two left with what appeared to be the coach asking his goalkeeper to focus on staying as still as possible in the crease.
Gill looked his best as he prepares for his long awaited debut. Shaw, once again, only hit for a brief time going one-on-one with hitting coach Vikram Rathour. His session was captured by video analyst Hari Prasad and Shastri, Rathour and Shaw then met to study the footage before the young man returned to the network for a few more installments. It seems obvious that the Mumbai opener has been tasked with working on a specific part of his technique, and his tour is likely not over yet even though he appears to be staying out in Melbourne.
Shastri was also seen chatting with Rahul, who also had a long net and seemed to be in good contact. India might as well be tempted to bring him in, but you’d think it’s only fair that Vihari try at least one more shot at MCG, where he certainly opened the entrances two years ago.
Australia seemed to be quietly preparing for Jadeja’s return as well with assistant coach Sridharan Sriram working hard with middle order hitters in particular. It will be interesting to see how they approach it, considering the control it brings to ball-in-hand procedures.
This will also be the third time that Jadeja and Ashwin would have played a Test together outside the subcontinent after Manchester in 2014 and Gros Islet in 2016. The last time, Jadeja’s physical condition and his inclusion for the Boxing Day Test had become in clouds of uncertainty and controversy. Fortunately, his return to the field here will bring much hope and faith to India as they seek to recover from the shock and shock of defeat in Adelaide.
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