There are multiple hues to the persona of Team India's all-season and all-format all-rounder—Ravindra Jadeja. There is the team man Jadeja who will bowl, bat and field his heart out, never complaining but getting on with the job at hand. Much like the way he gets through his overs—quickly, without much fuss. Then there is the swashbuckler Jadeja, whose trademark swaying of his bat like a sabre-rattling warrior prince, each time he scores a fifty or a century.
And then there is the Jadeja who got suspended from the third Test match in Sri Lanka by ICC after he was found guilty of level 2 offence—for Breach of ICC Code of Conduct in the Colombo Test. As per the ICC, he had accumulated six demerit points within a two-year period. The final nail in the proverbial coffin was when, after fielding off his own bowling in the final delivery of the 58th over, he threw the ball back at the batsman who had not left his crease. The on-field umpires deemed the throwing “in a dangerous manner” as it narrowly missed Dimuth Karunaratne.
Yes, the third Test match is not vital in a series already won by India and, therefore, Jadeja’s absence might not hurt a lot. But, it is not his first offence in the stipulated 24 months. His previous offence was in the third Test against the visiting New Zealand side at Indore in October 2016. He was found guilty, then, too, of a level 2 breach of ICC conduct, which relates to “causing avoidable damage to the pitch during an international match”. It is a reminder of how things can really get tough now, with the ICC coming down hard on players on their on-field conduct.
One might say international cricketers are getting to know the new system of demerit points and its implications. Recently, fast bowler Kagiso Rabada of South Africa had to miss out on the vital second Test against England for accumulating demerit points amounting to suspension. It was a huge blow for the visiting Proteas team.
A captain usually has no complaints when it comes to him, nor does he need to be told what to do during the game. A match-aware person, Jadeja's occasional expressions of aggression or gamesmanship, which have a tendency to surface without warnings, can be some cause for worry.
Coming back to Jadeja, his tendency to incur the wrath of on-field umpires may not seem like a serious issue for the team management, but it is a warning sign. Jadeja is a vital cog in Indian cricket team's plans—in all formats—and his absence can prove costly for the team. The suspension is perhaps a timely warning to Jadeja and the Indian team management. One that neither can afford to ignore.
