Star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s 210-ODI-long career might have come to an end, with the selection committee firmly looking to back Axar Patel as the team’s lead spin-bowling all-rounder for the upcoming World Cup.
Axar was named Player of the Match for his superb all-round display in the first ODI against England in Birmingham. He first produced career-best ODI figures of 4/62 before smashing an unbeaten fifty to steer India to a comfortable six-wicket win in the chase.
India’s current combination in overseas conditions, including the ongoing England tour, doesn’t feature a specialist frontline spinner, with Kuldeep Yadav continuing to warm the bench.
Instead, the team management has relied on the spin-bowling all-round duo of Axar and Washington Sundar to shoulder the responsibility.
The selectors are hesitant to bring Jadeja back as their first-choice spinner in the format, according to the report. With a shortage of quality spin-bowling all-rounders and Kuldeep offering limited value with the bat, the team management are keen on a spinner who can contribute enough to slot into the top seven.
“Jadeja’s bowling in white-ball cricket hasn’t been upto the mark for some time, according to the report. He played in the Champions Trophy 2025 because India expected turning tracks in Dubai,” a BCCI source.
“His power-hitting, too, isn’t at the level it was during the ODI World Cup 2019,” the source added.
