Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Shardul
Thakur is all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s true competitor in the Indian T20I
set-up and the latter’s inclusion in the Indian team for the Sri Lanka series
resulted in the former being rested.
After missing the South Africa tour due to an injury,
a fit Jadeja has been recalled to the Indian limited-overs team.
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While talking about the all-rounders on Star Sports’
show Game Plan, Bangar said that the Indian team management will have to pick
one between the two for the all-rounder’s position in the T20I team. Bangar, a
former India all-rounder, also hailed Jadeja’s all-round abilities.
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“The more I think of it, the more it seems that
it’s going to be a toss-up between Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja. That
could be one of the reasons why Shardul Thakur has been rested when Jadeja has
regained full fitness,” he said.
“Those two players have been doing the
all-rounder’s role commendably for India over the last year or so, both with
bat and ball. Ravindra Jadeja’s batting has been on the rise for the last
couple of years and him being a left-hander can add that right-left sort of
combination in the lower order as well, which the team has been looking for. I
would say Jadeja is a straight swap for the position vacated by Shardul
Thakur.”
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Thakur has been given rest for the Sri Lanka series,
which includes the two-match Test series in March. It is yet to be seen if
Jadeja will be straight away included in the playing XI for the first T20I game
against Sri Lanka, which will be played in Lucknow.
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“He brings a lot of value to the team in terms of
him being a multi-skilled cricketer and that’s what the trend suggests also
that most T20 teams would like to have players who are multi-skilled, who can
contribute with bat, ball and in the field as well. I believe there is no
better cricketer than Ravindra Jadeja who can fit that bill brilliantly,”
Bangar further added.
