ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Ravindra Jadeja's Absence Is Massive Loss For India - Mahela Jayawardene

The Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup was announced by the all-India senior selection committee earlier this week. While most of the squad could be anticipated, there were a few changes that sprung a surprise.

While the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel make their comeback from respective injuries, dynamic all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja misses out on the cut owing to a recently incurred knee injury. Echoing on the same lines, former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena opined that Jadeja not being available will be a “massive loss” for the Men in Blue.

India should be wary of not having a left-hander in the squad; reckons Jayawardene

Jayawardene said on The ICC Review, “It is a challenge. They had fitted him nicely in that No.5 role. He has been batting really well and him and Hardik (Pandya) being in that top six – two guys who can give that all-round options – gave India much more flexibility in that batting order.”

“It is a tough one for them, and probably a concern not having that left-hander. They’ve switched to leaving out DK (Dinesh Karthik) and bringing in Rishabh (Pant) in that role, batting at 5 or 4. Those are things they have to settle going into the World Cup. But not having Ravindra Jadeja, the form that he was in… it will be a massive loss for them,” he added.

Mahela Jayawardene suggests Virat Kohli’s rough patch over the last 12 months can be a point of concern

One of the major positives for India in the recently concluded Asia Cup is former skipper Virat Kohli finiding his form back. The right-hander put up a stellar show in the continental tournament. Kohli also managed to register his first-ever T20I ton while playing against Afghanistan- his first international century since November 2019.

“He was there and thereabouts pretty much. He just didn’t have that big score under his belt to get that confidence, especially in white-ball cricket, which is always going to happen.

“There were a few injury concerns in the last 12 months. He had little niggles and they rested him and India kept on giving people rest, with the workload that they had. So not having that consistent run also makes it tough,” concluded Jayawardene.

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