Ravindra Jadeja, the wonderkid, dubbed as one of the most promising youngsters in Indian cricket is back. What? Back, once again? Is it a comeback for good or just another comeback to make way for yet another comeback? Well, that needs to be seen. We don’t really have Paul the Octopus to predict Jaddu’s future anymore. Sigh!
Ravindra Jadeja’s comeback was criticised by all the fans, but it turned out to be a good call. He may not have necessarily set the pitch on fire after that fantabulous performance in England, but he remains a positive from the England tour. At The Oval, he walked in to bat with his depleted side in utter chaos and guided them to a good total. He willingly rotated strike whenever there was a chance and also hit a couple of boundaries off the loose deliveries. The lost and clueless Jaddu of old seems to be history and India can say that they have an emerging all-rounder if his string of good performances continues.
Consistency is the key for cementing a regular starting place in the Indian side. Now you might think that Jaddu is consistent. We say YES he is consistent. He is consistent at being inconsistent. He was quoted saying in one of his interviews for Indian Express that he missed many big opportunities earlier, but now, he wants to grab everything. “I was getting out cheaply. There were times when I got an opportunity to play a big innings but I wasted it. I had the opportunity to do something special but I didn’t make full use of it. But now I want to make sure that I grab every opportunity,” he said. We sure hope that he starts grabbing the right opportunities, the time is nigh.
As a batsman, Jadeja can accumulate runs but it is his frugal bowling as a left armer that makes him an ideal fifth bowler in shorter formats of the game. However, he may still be a few years away, if at all, from being a genuine all-rounder. To be fair enough he is playing better than expected. At least his batting has improved a bit and he can hit quite a few balls now. But we would still wait for more matches to comment any further. After all, one sunny day does not make a summer.