Ravindra Jadeja never had any fitness issue in Ranji game that he played: Saurashtra coach

Spinner-allrounder Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t played a single Test in the ongoing series against Australia Down Under but he has found himself in the headlines though not for positive reasons, thanks to a remark from national head coach Ravi Shastri. The latter recently said that Jadeja did not play in the second Test in Perth because of a stiff shoulder and it has sparked a controversy which refuses to die down. While fans kept on asking as to how Jadeja fielded in the Test if he was not fit, now the coach of Saurashtra has also spoken on the issue and it is bound to add more fuel to the fire.

Jadeja excelled both with bat and ball in his only Ranji game

Sitanshu Kotak, the coach of Jadeja’s home team Saurashtra in domestic cricket, has said the 30-year-old left-arm cricketer had no problem whatsoever when he appeared in his only game in Ranji Trophy this season, which was against Railways last month. In fact, Jadeja had excelled both with the bat and ball in that game, scoring 226 runs in two innings that included 178 not out in the first besides taking seven wickets for 181 runs. His performance in the game in Rajkot helped Saurashtra win by 3 wickets and no second thought had gone into adjudging the man as the player of the match.

“There was no fitness issue at all when he [Jadeja] was playing for Saurashtra. Neither there was any stiffness which you are talking about. Had there been any stiffness or any injury he would have not played Ranji Trophy, or at least he would have told us,” The Indian Express quoted Kotak as saying.

Kotak said Jadeja had two days’ nets session before Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy game against Railways where he batted and took part in fielding drills. He asked if Jadeja was not feeling fit, could he have been in the field for the game and delivered too? Jadeja bowled 64 overs in that match.

Jadeja played in the side game against Cricket Australia XI in Sydney before the first Test in Adelaide which India won by 31 runs. However, though he was in the squad of 13 for the second match in Perth, he eventually sat out as Virat Kohli’s team went ahead with four pacers for the game that the visitors lost by 146 runs.

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