It is the start of a new era for India in ODI cricket as the selectors officially named Shubman Gill as the new captain on Saturday (October 4). The 25-year-old's first assignment will be the upcoming Australia tour that has three ODIs and five T20Is. Gill's appointment as captain follows his elevation to Test captaincy and T20I vice-captaincy earlier this year, hinting at a possible all-format captaincy in the future.
There weren't too many surprises otherwise, with veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continuing in the ODI squad. A big question was about their future in the format but earlier this week, reports had floated in stating that the duo would be picked for the Australia series at least. However, one veteran hasn't been picked for the three-match ODI series - Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder was part of India's victorious Champions Trophy campaign this year but doesn't find a spot for the Australia series.
India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar rubbished rumours of a possible axing. Dwelling on the topic, the Mumbai man chose to take a diplomatic route to answering the question, and insisted that Jadeja was still in the management's future plans.
"With regards to Jaddu, I mean, look at the moment to take two left-arm spinners to Australia is not possible," said Agarkar at the press conference.
"He's clearly in the scheme of things with how good he is. But there will be some competition for places."
With Kohli and Rohit hogging the limelight, Jadeja's future understandably didn't ignite the same hype amongst fans and social media pundits. It must be remembered that he had retired alongside the batting duo from T20Is after the 2024 World Cup. While he remains supremely fit and undisputed in fielding, Jadeja does have competition when it comes to his all-round credentials. Axar Patel, who is a very similar utility cricketer, has shown far better hitting prowess and temperament with the bat under pressure.
Apart from Axar, the other all-round option for the Australia ODIs is Washington Sundary, another spinning all-rounder with better batting pedigree. There is also a genuine spinner in Kuldeep Yadav and one can argue that Australian conditions don't require more slow bowling options at this time of the year. With the cricket season having barely begun in the country, the pitches would mostly be fresh and seamer-friendly if anything.
"Of course, he (Jadeja) was there in the Champions Trophy squad but because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there, at the moment we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi [Washington Sundar] and Kuldeep [Yadav] there as well. And I don't think we would need more than that in Australia (as far as) spin (is concerned)."
Jadeja has featured in 33 ODIs since January 2023, tallying 42 wickets at a fine average of 26.61 and outstanding economy rate of 4.46 runs-per-over. However, with the bat, his role hasn't been as significant and what goes against him is his declining power game, an area where Axar has shown far more ability in the last two years. Jadeja continues to be a force, especially on pitches that support spinners but otherwise, his place could be in a spot of bother, even though Agarkar didn't say that publicly.
"He's clearly in the scheme of things, Jaddu, with how good he is, what he offers us as a batter and a bowler, but particularly in the field as well. So, it's a short series, you can't accommodate everyone and unfortunately at the moment he's missing out, but it's nothing more than that"
The Australia series might be a one-off or so we can choose to believe so, going by Agarkar's words. However, given how it panned for bigger players like Kohli and Rohit in Tests, it is arguably not a good space to be in for Jadeja as the team management looks towards the future.
