The Jadeja conundrum

WHEN Ravindra Jadeja was named as the vice-captain of the T20I team for the South Africa tour, it did come as a surprise. For one, the left-handed all-rounder had not played for India in the shortest format since August 2022. The last time he took the field in a T20I was during the 2022 Asia Cup during which he got injured and missed the T20 World Cup.

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Yet, more than a year on, Jadeja has found his way back to the T20I set up. And being a vice-captain makes it clear that he is likely to play every game available (the first T20I on Sunday was called off due to rain).

In a squad that also has Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, it is hard to make sense of what Jadeja's role would be. What makes it all the more interesting is the person Jadeja has replaced Axar Patel.