Why are India so keen to keep Ravindra Jadeja in his pigeonhole?

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Ravindra Jadeja (right) (via BCCI video)

In the lead-up to the second Test in Perth, Ravindra Jadeja spent some quality time with horses. There wasn’t much point practising his cricket because India never seem mad keen on picking him outside India.

It’s true that Jadeja’s bowling average in India (19) is quite a bit better than his bowling average outside India (36), but it’s also true that only 11 of his 39 Tests have been overseas.

Earlier this year we made the case that he should play in England for the very compelling reason that he’s annoying. He played one Test and even if some of his bowling limitations were apparent, he still took seven wickets and hit 86 not out.

Jadeja’s omission in Perth means India don’t have a spinner, so they should lose.

9 comments

  1. When was the last time India played a Test without a ‘front line’ spinner? Has it ever happened?

    1. I think I read on Cricinfo the other day that this would be the third time in India’s test history and the second time under Dhoni’s captaincy. However I may have imagined this, as only last night I dreamt I’d had a hair cut, and woke up this morning still looking like a scruffy git.

  2. I think they picked Vihari because he’s a better batsman. But he’s hardly anything of a spinner. Ridiculous decision. Still, he got a couple of wickets.

  3. That’s not a horse. It’s a unicorn with a very small horn. Jadeja has identified it as such and so is attempting to disguise this fact so he can keep it all to himself. Look at him trying to absorb unicorn magic from its horn into his bowling hand. In a few moments the unicorn will shrivel and die like that bloke at the end of the Indiana Jones film, while Jadeja will glow aquamarine and hover slightly.

    This is a new low for Indian cricket.

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