Ravindra Jadeja rested, not dropped from ODIs; selectors keep Yuzvendra Chahal on hold: Report

In less than 24 hours after India lifted the T20 World Cup in June, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from the shortest format. Three weeks later, Kohli and Rohit were requested to cut short their vacation as they were named for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will be played between August 3 and 7 in Colombo, but Jadeja was not picked. Does that imply the end of the white-ball career for the all-rounder? Is Jadeja now merely only a Test cricketer?

India will only play six ODI matches ahead of the Champions Trophy next year in February. Besides the three against Sri Lanka, India's remaining matches are against England at home next year, just a week before they leave for the tournament. Hence, it isn't wrong to assume that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee, in consultation with new head coach Gautam Gambhir, did not pick their first-preference side for the Champions Trophy.

With Jadeja missing, it was subsequently assumed that he was not in the scheme of things for the Champions Trophy, as he was among the few from the World Cup 2023 team to be dropped. However, according to a report in ESPNCricinfo, selectors rested Jadeja and did not drop him as they assured him that he would remain India's primary spin-bowling allrounder.

The report listed two reasons behind Agarkar and Gambhir not picking Jadeja for the Sri Lanka tour. One, they both want to test Axar Patel on whether he can emulate his T20I performance in ODIs, and the second reason is that the board would want him as fresh as possible for all the 10 Test matches India are slated to play between September 2023 to January 2024 - five at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand and five in Australia.

End of the road for Yuzvendra Chahal?

While it might have been the immediate thought, given Chahal did not feature in a single match for India in the T20 World Cup last month, having last played in the format in August 2023, and his last appearance in ODIs being over 19 months back, the ESPNCricinfo report added that the legspinner has been kept on hold by the selectors as of now.

With Chahal being a genuine No.11 in a line-up, across the two white-ball formats, it has worked against his favour with the changing dynamics of the sport. The selectors feel that while he is a world-class bowler, he will have to wait for his opportunity and when presented, will have to make the most of it.

With the Sri Lanka opportunity gone, Chahal's best hope relies on putting on an impressive show in the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament, which will be played between December 20, 2024 and January 18, 2025. BCCI will be keenly following the List A domestic tournament to make their selections for the England home series and the Champions Trophy.