5 cricketers who were lucky to play for India in 2019

2. Kedhar Jadhav

When it comes to street smartness, there are few in the current Indian team’s limited-overs set-up, who can match Kedar Jadhav’s on-your-feet thinking. But in recent times Jadhav has been the most under-utilised cricketer, which has led to varied opinions as to whether he is an ideal fit in India’s ODI team combination despite averaging 42 plus in 69 games.

Jadhav, who had sustained a hamstring injury in the past, bowled only 24 overs in his last 13 ODI games which is even less than two overs per game. Worse is that he hasn’t got a single wicket and in four of these games, he wasn’t even asked to bowl.

While batting great VVS Laxman feels that one needs to introspect whether soon-to-be 35 Jadhav is a contender for a place in the squad for the 2023 World Cup, when he will be 38, many former Indian players and now experts feel that Jadhav doesn’t deserve to get a continued run in the Indian team. His uncanny bowling action makes for fun viewing but the novelty factor of having him bowl every game has gone.

With the likes of Hardik Pandya and to an extent Shivam Dube breathing down his neck to nail the No. 6 slot, its high time the selectors look beyond Kedhar Jadhav. For what has been a very disappointing year for Jadhav in 2019, he is certainly lucky to find a place in India’s ODI setup even now.