Since the announcement of Team India’s squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka that starts on July 27, the media’s attention immediately shifted to Suryakumar Yadav, who was appointed as the T20I captain. Additionally, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli confirmed their participation in the 3-match ODI series for the preparation of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and Shubman Gill serving as a deputy in both ODIs and T20Is became the talk of the town.

Especially, after Gautam Gambhir became Team India’s new Head Coach, the uncertainty increased regarding the future of Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, and KL Rahul. This is because Jadeja and Shami are rested for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, whereas KL Rahul is included only in the ODIs and Hardik in the T20Is.

Is Ravindra Jadeja currently limited as a Test Player?

It seems that Ravindra Jadeja might have played his last limited-overs match, which was the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa.

The 35-year-old Indian all-rounder declared his retirement from the T20 internationals (T20Is) after winning the World Cup on June 29 in Barbados under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.

Also, he wasn’t named in the 15-member ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series. This raises questions about his 50-overs future career. However, it is understood that the selectors might have convinced Jadeja that he is being rested to remain as India’s core spin-bowling all-rounder.

Possibly, there could be three main reasons why Ravindra Jadeja might be rested:

1. Give Axar Patel a chance in ODIs:

Since Axar Patel played an important role in the recently concluded T20 World Cup with both bat and ball, the selectors and Gautam Gambhir are desperate to give Axar Patel a valuable opportunity in ODIs. This helps to evaluate his performance in the 50-over format ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Also, having two left-arm spin bowling all-rounders in the 3-match ODI series against Sri Lanka would be a surplus of talent.

2. Jadeja: A Key Player in Red-Ball Cricket

The second reason is that Ravindra Jadeja has been a core player for Team India’s line-up in the red-ball series for many years for both the home and away series. He has been a valuable player in India’s test cricket playing XI.

Moreover, the Indian cricket team is scheduled to play 10 test matches from September 2024 to January 2025, which includes five at home and five in Australia.

Over the past three years, Jadeja had missed a few test matches due to injury and the management wanted to preserve his best form for the upcoming games.

3. Axar vs Jadeja Performance in T20 World Cup 2024:

Here is a comparison of Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja’s performance with both bat and ball in T20 World Cup 2024:

From the above stats, it becomes clear that Axar Patel’s performance was more effective than Ravindra Jadeja’s in the group stages, Super 8 rounds, semi-final, and final match of the tournament.

Mohammed Shami’s Status in International Cricket?

Since the 2023 World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19, Mohammed Shami hasn’t participated in any international cricket matches due to an Achilles tendon injury. The 33-year-old medium pacer is currently under rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, where he started practicing bowling sessions after undergoing a successful surgery in February 2024.

However, the selectors haven’t finalized a possible return date for Shami in this year’s calendar. But, fans are eager to watch him participate in the home test series against Bangladesh in September and New Zealand from October to November 2024. It is the only possible option for the fast bowler before India departs to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, featuring 5-match Test Series.

It becomes clear that if Shami doesn’t clear the fitness tests, then the selectors will omit him from India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. 

Reasons Why Hardik Pandya is ignored from the ODI Squads

According to the latest news, Hardik Pandya has opted for a break during the ODI series against Sri Lanka due to personal matters, although the reasons remain unclear.

After facing an ankle injury in the previous year’s ODI World Cup, he didn’t play any international match for six months, before making a comeback as a vice-captain in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 winning campaign. Despite his best performance, Hardik was just selected as a player in the T20I squad against Sri Lanka with Shubman Gill being named as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy. 

Although Hardik could provide a perfect balance in India’s playing XI as a pace-bowling all-rounder, selectors feel that he wouldn’t be able to bowl his quota of 10 overs in ODI format. Moreover, the 30-year-old all-rounder bowled his full 10-over quota in the World Cup 2019 semi-final match against New Zealand, which was indeed the last time he did so. Since then, Hardik bowled 27 out of 32 matches in ODIs. without even bowling his full quota.

Mainly, the selectors considered Hardik’s frequent injury issues, which forced them to shift the focus more on providing chances to seam-bowling allrounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shivam Dube.

Also, the selectors wanted to prefer more spin-bowling allrounders in the squad such as Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Riyan Parag, whose inclusion in the Sri Lanka ODI series seemed to be a surprise.

Overall, selectors view Hardik Pandya as a promising option who can be a power-hitting batsman in India’s top-six order and bowl a few overs.

Is KL Rahul currently continuing as an all-format player?

KL Rahul’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup 2024 squad was a clear indication from the selection committee that he wouldn’t be considered for the shortest format. This resulted in Rahul’s omission from the T20I tour of Zimbabwe in July 2024 as well as for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.

At the same time, it is clear that KL Rahul would be included as a core player in ODIs and Tests. The selectors strongly believe his composed nature and abilities can help to anchor the team’s innings steadily in pressurized moments of the match.

In the 2023 World Cup tournament, Rahul performed the role of wicketkeeper in Rishabh Pant’s absence, who was recovering from injuries that occurred in a life-threatening car accident.

The selectors have included both Pant and Rahul as the wicketkeepers for the ODI series against Sri Lanka. But, Dhruv Jurel, who made his debut for the Indian cricket team during the England Test series in January-February 2024, promises to be a perfect backup wicketkeeper across all three formats.

Finally, KL Rahul’s return to the ODI squad, makes it difficult for the batter-wicketkeeper Sanju Samson to secure his spot in the 50-over format, despite scoring a match-winning century in his last ODI match against South Africa.