Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reckons Ravindra Jadeja hitting the ground running in his comeback match is a lovely sign for Indian cricket. Jadeja was out of action due to a knee injury in the last five months and made a return to professional cricket in Ranji Trophy.
The left-handed all-rounder led Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu at Chepauk and impressed with the ball. Jadeja returned with impressive figures of 7-51 in the 17.1 overs he bowled in the second essay. Though Jadeja could only return with scores of 15 and 25 with the bat, his bowling was a big positive.
Tamil Nadu went on to win by 59 runs in the end but Jadeja’s bowling was the highlight before the Border-Gavaskar series.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “Things are turning around. Who are going to return – Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah. Jadeja came to his second home in Chepauk to test his fitness and play a Ranji Trophy game. Jadeja has picked up a seven-fer for Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu.”
He continued: “This is the home ground for Jadeja when he turns out for CSK. But this is also Tamil Nadu’s home ground. He picked seven wickets in the second innings. This is a lovely sign for Indian cricket. He will also enter the scheme of things for the ODI World Cup.”
After a fine performance against Tamil Nadu in the second innings, Jadeja had stated he is ready for the four-match series against Australia.
On the other hand, Ashwin is also impressed with Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling performance. Yadav has been performing consistently in the recent past in ODIs and Test matches.
“Axar Patel has taken a break for his marriage. So, Axar Patel will return as well. Washington Sundar has done decently well too. Kuldeep Yadav has had an extraordinary run. Kul-Cha combination returned in the last ODI (against New Zealand). But Kuldeep has taken his game a notch higher. He has put his hand up and said, ‘I am here to stay. If you need a wrist-spinner, pick me, I say’.”
Yadav scalped six wickets in three ODIs against New Zealand and he has been doing a fine job for the Indian team. The second T20I between India and New Zealand will place on Sunday in Lucknow.
