Ravindra Jadeja’s knee injury has once again flared up and he’s been ruled out of the remainder of the Asia Cup 2022, currently going on in the UAE. The management has added Axar Patel to the main squad; Axar had already been with the contingent as a reserve player.
“Ravindra Jadeja has sustained a right knee injury and is ruled out of the tournament. He is currently under the supervision of the BCCI medical team,” the BCCI said in a released statement on Friday evening.
“His replacement, Axar Patel was earlier named as one of the standbys in the squad and will join the team in Dubai soon.”
Ravindra Jadeja’s knee has troubled him before as well
This is the second time in recent months that Jadeja has been troubled by his right knee: in July, he had to miss the ODI series in West Indies, for which he was named the vice-captain, because of a similar problem.
Ravindra Jadeja, 33, played a significant role in India’s win over Pakistan on Sunday. The left-handed batsman scored 35 runs in 29 balls, stroking 2 four and 2 sixes, in the run-chase of 148. He was involved in two vital partnerships – first with Suryakumar Yadav that stabilised India’s position in the chase; then with Hardik Pandya in a stand that won the India the game.
Jadeja was promoted to number 4 against Pakistan to break the chain of right-handers and to counter Pakistan’s spinners, leg-spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm orthodox Mohammad Nawaz. Early in his innings, Jadeja slammed Nawaz for a six which forced Pakistan captain Babar Azam to take him out of the attack and then he had to use Nawaz in the last over only where Pandya smashed him for a six to win the match.
Against Hong Kong, Jadeja did not get to bat, but made impact with the ball as he dismissed top-scorer Babar Hayat and only gave away 15 runs in his four overs.
India will hope for Jadeja to get completely fit as soon as possible, but without risking further chances of injury because the all-rounder is a key component of the team which looks forward to the T20 World Cup in October in Australia.
Will Axar Patel get in the eleven?
In the meantime, they have a good replacement of Jadeja in Axar Patel. Axar has raised his stocks in white-ball cricket in recent months. First, he was impactful with both bat and ball in the IPL 2022 for Delhi Capitals and then, playing for Team India, Axar won matches with both the traits. It will also be interesting to see whether India slot Axar straight in the eleven or they include Deepak Hooda in the side to strengthen the batting further and Hooda can also chip in with his off-spin.
Jadeja’s injury can also force the management to include Rishabh Pant in their first-eleven this tournament given he’s now the only left-handed batter. Pant was benched for the Pakistan game and then came in the side against Hong Kong when Hardik Pandya was rested.
