I really don't know how I get wickets: Kedar Jadhav

In this funny game of cricket, the part-timers are often the ones to give you breakthroughs at the most crucial moments. Following the footsteps of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, Kedar Jadhav is doing exactly the same now for this Indian team. Initially selected in the team as a full-fledged batter, the man with the golden arm has given India a wicket whenever he has been called upon to do so.

May it be in the ICC Champions Trophy or even in the on-going match between India and Australia, it was the 32-year-old Punekar to bring Kohli’s men back in the grand scheme of things. Opening batter Rohit Sharma might mock him by saying that Jadhav himself is unaware of his bowling style, but it was this right-arm off-spinner who broke the mammoth 231 run Warner-Finch partnership in the last game.

Today (October 1), he picked up the crucial wicket of the Australian skipper Steve Smith just when he was getting into the groove. When former Australian skipper Michael Clarke asked Jadhav about the magic he brings in with his uncanny style of bowling, the owner of 16 ODI wickets said, “Trust me, I really don’t know how I get my wickets. I’m just happy that I do my job whenever the captain asks me to. It has helped my batting as well and I am more confident because of my bowling.”

I am living my dream

Jadhav’s international career has kick-started very late, but looking at his red hot form at the moment, the Indian fans will say “better late than never”. When Clarke asked the owner of 2 ODI hundreds about his form, the pocket dymano said “Obviously, it has been a dream since the time I started playing cricket, to play for your country and doing well. So I am living my dream, you can say.”