The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Sunday clarified that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was indeed fit for the ongoing Test series and his shoulder injury flared only after landing in Australia.
Jadeja was included in the 13-member squad for the Perth Test but has not played since and according to the BCCI, he lacked “required intensity” while bowling during the net sessions. Chief coach Ravi Shastri revealed earlier in the day that Jadeja’s shoulder injury took more time to heal than expected.
It raised questions about the team’s injury management as off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also missed out on the Perth Test due to his respective injury. The board asserted that Jadeja had overcome the shoulder trouble before being picked for the tour and that he is fit for the Boxing Day Test, starting on Wednesday.
“Jadeja’s left shoulder has continued to improve and he is now available for the third Test match of the series in Melbourne,” the BCCI said in a statement.
Seeking to clear doubts, the BCCI provided the sequence of events, explaining how the Saurashtra all-rounder missed out on playing any match. “Jadeja complained of a left shoulder discomfort after prolonged bowling spells during the West Indies ODI series. He underwent a guided injection in Mumbai for this on November 2.
“This gave Jadeja good relief of his symptoms and he played in the Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra from 12 to 15 November, in which he completed 64 overs without any issues. He was thereby declared fit by the BCCI and selected for the Test series against Australia,” the release said.
After Jadeja flew to Australia, he then complained of a recurrence of his symptoms on November 30 during the match against the CA XI in Sydney. He was given another injection into a slightly different site on that day. This injection along with his rehabilitation program improved his symptoms.
“In the lead up to the Perth Test match on 14th December, the management and the all-rounder were of the opinion that the intensity of his bowling in the nets could have been higher, to match the standards required for such an intensely fought series. For this reason, he was not considered for selection for the 2nd Test match,” the statement added.
Shastri said Jadeja’s “recovery has taken more time than expected”.
“We wanted to be careful. Last thing you want is someone breaking down after 5-10 overs and then we would be stuck for players to pick for Melbourne and Sydney,” the coach explained the reasons behind Jadeja non-inclusion in the playing XI in the first two Tests.
