NEW DELHI: It is increasingly possible that Ravindra Jadeja has played his last ODI for India. The veteran all-rounder was left out of the playing XI for the third match after a below-par return in the first two ODIs against the West Indies. Captain Shubman Gill maintained that Jadeja was rested not dropped, but the writing is very much on the wall for the experienced all-rounder in the format.“I don’t think Jaddu bhai was dropped. We rested him because we had an opportunity today to give game time to other players. When a series is only three matches long, it becomes very difficult to give experience to players sitting outside,” Gill said in the post-match press conference after India’s defeat in the third ODI in New Chandigarh.Jadeja picked up only two wickets in the first two matches and did not get an opportunity to bat. Since the 2023 ODI World Cup, Jadeja has played only 15 of the 32 ODIs India have played. He has taken 14 wickets at an average of 47.92 and an economy rate of 5.20. His bowling returns have declined sharply in recent times.Before the Guwahati ODI, Jadeja had managed only one wicket in his previous seven ODIs, although that was not entirely unexpected. Given his bowling style and recent pitch conditions, he was unlikely to regularly dismantle batting line-ups in ODIs unless conditions significantly assisted him.Since the 2025 Champions Trophy, where he was part of India’s spin quartet, Jadeja has taken only five wickets in eight matches, with his economy rate going beyond six runs per over.
He is not in India’s scheme of things for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Axar and Washington were playing in the Asian Games, whereas Harsh Dubey and Shahbaz Ahmed are at the CoE because they were injured.
BCCI Source
His batting numbers do little to strengthen his case. Jadeja has not scored an ODI fifty in the last six years. Since the 2023 World Cup, he has made 149 runs in 10 innings. While Jadeja has never been viewed primarily as a batter in ODIs, his batting was an important part of his overall value to the team.In 142 ODI innings across 212 matches, Jadeja has crossed the fifty-run mark only 13 times. His principal role in the format, however, has been that of a bowler capable of controlling the run rate. At his best, he could hold up one end, complete his 10-over spell for around 45-50 runs and chip in with a wicket or two.That reliability, though, has not been as evident recently.
Guwahati: India’s Ravindra Jadeja reacts during the second One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and West Indies, in Guwahati. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)(PTI09_30_2026_000259A)
Jadeja is now fifth in the pecking order among India’s spin-bowling all-rounders, behind Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey and Shahbaz Ahmed.“He is not in India’s scheme of things for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Axar and Washington were playing in the Asian Games, whereas Harsh Dubey and Shahbaz Ahmed are at the CoE because they were injured,” a source tracking the developments told TimesofIndia.com.“And when it comes to the left-arm spin all-rounder option, Axar is ahead of Jadeja. Axar has more wicket-taking ability and can bat as a floater from No. 4 to No. 7 in the middle overs. By no means is he inferior when it comes to fielding,” the source added.
For me, Jadeja has always been a utility player. He has definitely improved as a bowler over the last six months.
Sairaj Bahutale | Team India’s spin bowling coach
The numbers over the last 12 months also underline the changing pecking order. Jadeja has taken only one wicket in seven ODIs during this period, leaving him with a bowling average of more than 350. Across the six ODIs against New Zealand and South Africa, he generally did not complete his full quota of 10 overs, with the Thiruvananthapuram ODI against the West Indies being the only exception.Axar Patel, meanwhile, has produced significantly better returns. He has taken eight wickets in six ODIs over the last 12 months, with a bowling average of 30.87, better than his career average of 32.73.After the Guwahati ODI, India’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule described Jadeja as a “utility player” and said the all-rounder had improved as a bowler over the previous six months.
Guwahati: India’s Ravindra Jadeja, left, with captain Shubman Gill celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies Amir Jangoo during the second One Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and West Indies, in Guwahati. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)(PTI09_30_2026_000434A)
“For me, Jadeja has always been a utility player. He has definitely improved as a bowler over the last six months,” Bahutule said after the Guwahati ODI.However, the numbers since the 2023 World Cup favour Axar. He has taken 21 wickets in 19 matches at an economy rate of 4.53. Axar has taken a wicket every 45 balls, while Jadeja’s strike rate in his 15 appearances is 55.2, meaning he has taken a wicket every 55 balls.Jadeja’s batting role has also largely been confined to No. 7 or 8 of late, and he does not offer a significantly different skill set from the other options in contention. Axar, his most direct competitor, has carved out a more defined role as a spin-hitter.Since the 2023 World Cup final, Axar has scored 437 runs in 18 innings at an average of 29.13, including two fifties.There had been signs earlier that Jadeja’s position in the ODI set-up could come under pressure. Last year, former chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar suggested that India did not necessarily need Jadeja in Australian conditions, given the limited value of playing two left-arm spinners.“He is very much in the plans. But there will be some competition for places. Of course, he was there in the Champions Trophy squad because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there. At the moment, we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi and Kuldeep there as well. And I don’t think we are going to need more than that in Australia,” Agarkar had said.South Africa, the hosts of the 2027 ODI World Cup alongside Zimbabwe and Namibia, could offer conditions that are similarly demanding for India’s spinners. With Jadeja no longer providing the same control with the ball and his batting returns not strong enough to compensate, the selectors appear to have several younger alternatives.Gill may insist that Jadeja was rested rather than dropped for the third ODI. But with Axar ahead of him, Washington Sundar offering another spin-bowling option and Harsh Dubey and Shahbaz Ahmed also in the mix, the reality is that Jadeja’s path back into India’s ODI plans is becoming increasingly difficult.The third ODI in New Chandigarh may, therefore, have been more significant for Jadeja than the Indian captain’s description of it as a rest suggests.
