Is Ravindra Jadeja too good to be excluded from India’s T20 squad?

For quite some time before the 2018 Asia Cup, Ravindra Jadeja was consigned to just Test cricket by the Indian team management.

Even though he, along with Ravichandran Ashwin, had done reasonably well in the ODIs, the rise of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as India’s first choice spinners meant that the Ashwin and Jadeja were restricted to just Test cricket – wrist-spin was favoured over finger-spin.

A resurgence in the Asia Cup and against West Indies

However, in the Asia Cup, the 29-year-old's white-ball career received a lifeline after India's third spinner, Axar Patel, was sidelined due to injury. This time, the Jadeja grabbed the opportunity with both hands – he not only performed well with the ball but pitched in with some crucial batting contributions lower down the order.

Without his heroics with the bat, India would have most probably lost the game they eventually tied against Afghanistan.

In the just-concluded ODI series against West Indies, Jadeja did not disappoint with the ball. His economy rate of 4.7 was the best among India’s three spinners and his bowling average was better than that of Chahal.

He was simply unplayable in the final game of the series at Thiruvananthapuram, where he returned figures of 4/34 in his bowling effort.

Is T20I cricket a possibility for Jadeja?

Indian skipper Virat Kohli must give Jadeja one more chance in the shortest format of the game

While both Kuldeep and Chahal are in India’s T20 squad, Jadeja is not only not in the squad but seems to be completely out of contention in selectors’ eyes.

This is not to contest the position of India’s two wrist spinners in the T20 squad, as they have performed remarkably well in recent times. However, Jadeja is too good a player to not be in contention for a place for the shortest format of the game.

Not just his bowling, but his ability to score quickly is something that India’s lower middle order miss out on in his absence – Chahal nor Kuldeep have comparable batting talent. Jadeja, undoubtedly, is one of India’s best fielders as well.

But even if selectors persist with the two wrist spinners, there is no reason why a place cannot be found for the all-rounder in the larger squad.

A position in the larger squad

India need Jadeja's experience right now

At present, Washington Sundar is seen as the spin bowling all-rounder in India’s squad. No one doubts the talent and potential the youngster, but unlike Jadeja, the 19-year-old is not experienced enough in international cricket at the moment. He is not a part of India’s ODI side and has only one 50-over appearance to his name against Sri Lanka, where he was the most expensive Indian bowler.

The young player should not be judged too harshly, but his lack of international exposure may not augur well for him right now. He has time on his hand and should develop more as a spin-bowling all-rounder.

At this moment, though, the squad position should go to the in-form Jadeja, who is high on confidence after his remarkable return to the ODI format. If at all, his utility to India’s T20 squad is possibly more than the 50-over squad.