Jadeja set to return to the team for the Australia series

After nearly five months, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be returning to the team in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. He has been recovering from a career-threatening knee injury, which forced him to miss the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.

Jadeja missed the 2022 T20 World Cup as he underwent knee surgery, which kept him out of the game for five months. He has been picked in a 17-member squad for the first two Tests in the highly-anticipated four-match series against Australia slated to begin in Nagpur from February 9.

"I am very excited and happy that after almost more than five months, I get to wear the Indian jersey again. I have been blessed that I was given the opportunity again and the journey to reach here was full of up and downs. Because if you are not playing cricket for five months, it becomes very frustrating and obviously, I was eagerly waiting to get fit as soon as possible so that I can go play for India," said Jadeja in an interview.

The Southpaw also opened up that he needed to undergo surgery at any cost and there was a minimal chance to feature in the T20 World Cup had he undergone surgery after that. "My knee was struggling me, so, I had to undergo the surgery. I had to decide whether I want to undergo surgery before the World Cup or after that. So the doctor also advised me to get it done before the World Cup as there was a minimal chance to play the World Cup even if I had delayed it," he added.

Jadeja explained that the post-surgery period was tough because regular training and rehab were to be followed properly.

He had not played any competitive cricket since the T20I against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup on August 31 and his previous first-class match was the rescheduled one-off Test at Edgbaston against England last July. He made a comeback in Saurashtra’s final round of Ranji Trophy fixture against Tamil Nadu in Chennai which began on January 24.

Beyond his wicket taking repertoire, Jadeja the bowler has been known for the high frequency of overs he can bowl on trot and round them up quickly. He reportedly has started to bowl and bat from earlier this week as he’s winding up his rehab at the NCA. The left-handed batter is seen as a vital cog in India’s line-up, especially in absence of Rishabh Pant at No 5 or 6 in the middle-order.

His left-arm spin could also come handy along with ace off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the four-match series that will determine India’s fate to make a successive World Test Championship final appearance.