Ravindra Jadeja Focusing on Batting to Revive Limited-Overs Career

Ravindra Jadeja, on Sunday, said he is focusing more on his batting to bring his limited-overs career back on track.

The left-arm spinner was an indispensable part of the team in all the formats not very long ago. However, prolonged poor return with the ball as well as bat in the coloured jersey cost him his place.

Jadeja last played an ODI in July last year during the tour of West Indies. His previous Twenty20 International too came on the same tour in the one-off match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

He along with Ravichandran Ashwin first got dropped from the team for the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka. At that time, the selectors had said Jadeja and Ashwin were ‘rested’.

The rest, however, is yet to get over. Their replacements – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – have done exceedingly well. As a result, any chances of seeing the senior spinners in coloured jersey is looking bleak at the moment.

Jadeja, however, is not ready to throw in the towel yet. And in an attempt to make a quick comeback, he is bolstering his batting. He recently scored a match-winning 113 to help Saurashtra chase down 330 against Jharkhand in Vijay Hazare Trophy.

What boosted his confidence more are the words of encouragement from none other than MS Dhoni? The Saurashtra star stated he had been assured by Dhoni to get batting opportunities in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.

“Mahi bhai [Dhoni] told me that I would get batting opportunities in the IPL this year. He said that I have the ability of a proper batsman, and I am not the flash in the pan type of batsman. And I should think like that,” Jadeja told The New Indian Express.

“It was really encouraging for me. So, I am concentrating more on the batting aspect of my game and trying to get used to playing the anchor role,” he added.

Happy with bowling:

The 29-year old further said he is happy with his current bowling form before reiterating his focus on batting.

“I am quite happy with the way I am bowling. In fact, I am focusing more on my batting now. I do not want to be a player who is known for hitting those 20-odd runs. I want to play the anchor role, just like I did today [Sunday],” he said.

But while Jadeja is happy with his bowling efforts, his performance in Vijay Hazare is telling a different story. So far, he has not managed to pick up a single wicket despite bowling 32 overs in four games.

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