Surendra Bhave, not long ago a national selector and Kedar Jadhav's coach, reckons the Pune man's useful ODI contributions against NZ will be a problem for out-of-favour UP batsman Suresh Raina's return
India's Kedar Jadhav during his unbeaten 39 against New Zealand at Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Pic/AFP
If you scan through Kedar Jadhav's records, a lot of them have to do with the bat and the 'keeper's gloves.
The attacking Maharashtra middle-order batsman shot to fame with a 29-ball 50 for Delhi Daredevils (DD) in his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in 2010. Then, in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season, he finished as the season's highest run-getter with 1223 runs, including six centuries. With the gloves, he has 11 catches and four stumpings to his credit in 51 IPL matches.
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Ball does the talking
Fast forward to 2016, Jadhav finished the five-match one-day series against New Zealand bowling 18 overs in four games, taking six wickets for 73 runs at a decent economy rate of 4.05. Only Umesh Yadav (eight) and Amit Mishra (15) claimed more wickets than him. Jadhav's ascent in the bowling department has been surprising. But according to former Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave, who has worked with Jadhav since his under-19 days, the Pune man's exploits with the ball are nothing new.
"Kedar has always been a multi-skilled player. To be a good batsman, you need ball sense, but Kedar has taken that skill into his bowling as well. His ball sense and subtle speed changes have worked in his favour," said Bhave, who revealed Jadhav can bowl a fair bit of medium pace as well.
Surendra Bhave and Suresh Raina
Jadhav's prowess with the white ball flummoxed the New Zealand batsmen on quite a few occasions. During the first ODI at Dharamsala, Jadhav had both James Neesham and Mitchell Santner in his second over. The 31-year-old can also boast of claiming the wicket of Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson in the third ODI at Mohali. "His round arm delivery and variations in pace does the trick. Even in the nets when he used to play for Maharashtra, he did this whenever he bowled and his prodigious swing attracted the attention of everyone.
"He does this with great mental strength. To be able to execute this at the international level is exceptional. He's a tough player," Bhave added. Jadhav has shown a proclivity for hardwork and with Suresh Raina, now being unavailable for selection after failing the yoyo test (Team India's fitness test), Jadhav can probably stake a claim for a middle order berth. "To cement his position in the side, he will to have play a match-winning innings. So the job is cut out. We share a good relationship and I tell him this," Bhave asserted.
Tough for Raina
"Kedar's performance will make it tough for Raina to return. But it depends on how many players are fit for selection and whether there are slots for these new guys, or will the big guns, who were rested, be automatically selected. Ask for a contribution and Kedar has delivered. He has done his bit," the former National selector pointed out.
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