Australia vs India: Ravindra Jadeja declared fit to play the Boxing Day Test

Team India is fretting over the fitness of some of their key players even as Prithvi Shaw has been ruled out of the ongoing Test series against Australia. With the series locked at 1-1, the third Test could be the eventual clincher even as the visitors are struggling with injury concerns of some of the players in the squad. Meanwhile, the left-handed all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been declared fit to play in the Boxing Day Test starting from December 26.

According to reports in Cricket Next, Jadeja can feature in the third Test and might well be included in the playing XI if Ravi Ashwin doesn’t manage to get fit in time. He was ruled out of the second Test as well due to the abdominal strain after bowling more than 50 overs in second innings in Adelaide. India most probably wouldn’t be going with an all-pace attack for the next match and Jadeja will be a good option as the specialist spinner as he can bat at number eight as well.

A year on the bench for Jaddu

Ravindra Jadeja has spent most of the year on the bench this year playing only a solitary Test match away from home and that too due to Ravi Ashwin got injured. India played only three Test matches at home this year and as many as 10 Tests so far away. Jadeja only featured in the fifth Test against England and straight away did extremely well.

He had a point to prove and the left-arm spinner picked four wickets in the first innings sending down 30 overs. With the bat, he scored an unbeaten 86 off 156 balls taking the tail with him only to help India to reduce the first innings lead of the opposition. He was even more lethal in the second innings accounting for three scalps and proving his mettle.

However, come the Australia tour, once again Ravi Ashwin was preferred and rightly so. But this is another opportunity for Jaddu to end 2018 on a high with a match-winning performance for India at the MCG.

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