Fitness Top Priority For Ravindra Jadeja As India All-Rounder Eyes International Comeback
India’s left-arm spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s fitness report by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be made available to the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on February 1.
As per a report in Cricbuzz, BCCI will take a call on Ravindra Jadeja’s readiness for the start of the four-match Test series against Australia, to be played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, on February 1 when the report on his fitness levels from the NCA will be available.
Jadeja is currently on a comeback trail from a knee injury which needed surgery in September last year, forcing him to pull out of Asia Cup in the UAE and miss subsequent cricket action, including Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
He is currently playing for Saurashtra, and captaining them against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and will report back to the NCA for an assessment at the end of the match.
The report added that the selectors and the team management will subsequently take a call on his availability before India start a pre-series camp in Nagpur from February 2. The first of the four-match Test series will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium from February 9, followed by matches in New Delhi, Dharamshala and Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile, the report also said opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against New Zealand after he complained of wrist pain. Gaikwad, 25, has checked into the NCA for a prognosis of his injury and subsequent rehabilitation.
Gaikwad was last involved in the Ranji Trophy clash for Maharashtra against Hyderabad, making 8 and 0. He then subsequently reported to the BCCI about his wrist condition. Incidentally, this is the second time Gaikwad has had trouble with his wrist, missing last year’s T20I series against Sri Lanka with an injury to his right wrist.
The report added that the decision makers and the brains trust of the national team are upset over how often Gaikwad has missed assignments due to illness or injuries. But they will not seek a replacement for this series, increasing the possibility of the returning Prithvi Shaw’s participation in the series as an opener, with the first match to be held in Ranchi on Friday.
