India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has lauded the underrated Ravindra Jadeja saying that he is not much talked about given his contribution to Indian cricket ahead of the finals in the Champions Trophy 2025.
Gambhir pointed out that Jadeja has been an indispensable part of the team across formats. He labelled him as one of the best all-rounders in the world.
“I’ve always felt that Ravindra Jadeja has always gone under the radar. I think he’s someone who we don’t speak highly about.”
“See what he’s done for Indian cricket. Be it Test format, be it T20I format or in 50-over format. I think he’s very important to Indian cricket and what he’s done.”
“Not just with the bat or ball, in the field as well. He’s, I think, one of the top all-rounders going around in world cricket,” said Gambhir.
“We, in the dressing room, know the value of Ravindra Jadeja. We feel that the importance of Ravindra Jadeja is what it is in the dressing room and not what happens outside the dressing room.”
Jadeja got the opportunity to bat against New Zealand in the final group stages scoring 16 runs. He remained unbeaten in the run chase against Australia. He has been economical with the ball, not conceding more than 40 runs.
He has bagged four wickets in the tournaments so far, including two wickets against Australia in the semifinals.
India are unlikely to make changes to their winning combinationfor the final. Meanwhile former head coach Ravi Shastri was asked to name the Indian players he would pick to win the ‘Player of the Match’ in the final against New Zealand.
“Player of the Match, I would go for an all-rounder. I’ll say Axar Patel or Ravindra Jadeja from India,” he said in The ICC Review.
Ravindra Jadeja has played 15 games against New Zealand and picked nine wickets at an average of 76.66. He has 377 runs in 12 innings at an average of 47.12 including a 77-run knock in the ODI World Cup 2019 semi finals in a losing cause.
India and New Zealand will clash once again in the finals of the Champions Trophy 2025 on March 09 at Dubai International Stadium.
