Why Kedar Jadhav’s selection for West Indies tour is a right decision made by Indian selectors

Kedar Jadhav’s selection for West Indies tour: The Indian selectors have persisted with the all-rounder for the tour of West Indies.

India all-rounder Kedar Jadhav received plentiful flak on social media platform Twitter after he was named in India’s ODI squad for West Indies tour yesterday. Already a member of the ODI team, 34-year old Jadhav wasn’t expected to make the cut for the tour of West Indies primarily due to his performance in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

In six ODIs during the showpiece event, Jadhav scored 80 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 80.80 including a fighting half-century against Afghanistan. While his numbers are not worth bragging about, one has to keep in mind the fact that he mostly got to bat in the death overs and remained unbeaten on three occasions.

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Agreed that he didn’t get going against West Indies and England, but two bad innings doesn’t mean the end of the road for someone who has consistently finished innings for India in the recent past.

Kedar Jadhav’s selection for West Indies tour

In his half-a-decade old ODI career, Jadhav has scored 1,254 runs at an average of 43.24 and a strike rate of 100.80. In 11 ODIs from the start of this year till the start of the World Cup, Jadhav has scored 290 runs at an average of 48.33 and a strike rate of 88.95 including a couple of half-centuries. In the last 12 months, Jadhav’s 456 runs have come at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of 89.06.

With India undergoing a dearth of finishers, there does not lie much logic in dropping someone who has been among the runs in the recent past. What most people are also questioning is Jadhav’s age which shouldn’t be a measure until anyone keeping scoring runs or picking wickets.

How Twitter reacted on Kedar Jadhav:

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