Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Not Out’, JioStar experts Cheteshwar Pujara and Abhishek Nayar discussed Ravindra Jadeja’s future in the ODI setup with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 in mind, Kuldeep Yadav not being an ODI regular, and the importance of having five bowlers in the line-up to win tournaments.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Not Out’, JioStar expert Cheteshwar Pujara discussed whether Ravindra Jadeja’s omission from the New Zealand ODIs signals the end of the road for him in the format.
“I believe so, because if you want to keep Ravindra Jadeja in ODI cricket, then he should have been selected,” Nayar said. “I’m sure it was communicated to him that he might not be selected because Axar Patel has been the main all-rounder in ODI cricket and is being given more opportunities.”
“Looking at his age, I feel the team management might have told him that he is now only a part of Test cricket, so he should focus there, and that they are not looking at him for white-ball cricket. So, it could be the end of the road because, obviously, he has retired from T20 Internationals. I feel he might not be selected just for the ODIs.”
He also spoke on why Kuldeep Yadav has not been regular in the ODI side. “I think in ODI cricket, you need depth, especially when you play outside India,” he opined.
“So, when you look at any team, their balance is better only when they have the option of batting at number seven and number eight. Number seven has to be an all-rounder, and number eight has to be a bowler who can bat a bit. With Kuldeep, he is a very good bowler, but his batting is not up to the mark. So, India are always looking at someone who can bat at number eight.”
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Out or Not Out’, JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar explained why Ravindra Jadeja might still be in the fray for Team India in the ODIs.
“Jaddu might not come back into the team, but if someone gets injured, the first name that will come to mind will be Jaddu. Because after Axar, there is no one. The valid question right now would be: After Axar, who is the frontrunner? Currently, the frontrunner is Axar Patel, and after him, Jaddu is still your insurance policy. If something happens to Axar Patel before the World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja will come into the team.”
Speaking about the importance of five proper bowlers in ODI cricket, Nayar said, “In T20 cricket, I believe you need depth because you play attacking cricket.”
“In ODI cricket, you have time to adapt, right? According to me, if you don’t take wickets, no matter how long your batting line-up goes, very rarely will a team win a championship because of their seventh or eighth batsman. However, it has happened many times that the fifth bowler can win you a championship. In the last World Cup, the differentiating factor was how Australia bowled. In the final, Australia took regular wickets, restricted India and then won the championship. So, for me, in ODIs, bowlers win you tournaments.”
