Confusion cloud over Ravindra Jadeja fitness ahead of Boxing Day Test against Australia

CHENNAI: Two days before the crucial third Test against Australia in Melbourne, there is confusion over Ravindra Jadeja.

Coach Ravi Shastri said the all-rounder was carrying a shoulder injury and travelled to Australia with it. A BCCI statement contradicted that. It said the player was cleared for the tour only after being declared fully fit.

While it’s difficult to ascertain which side has the truth, problems in injury management is not new in Indian cricket in recent times. Just that there are many loose ends in the latest one. If the BCCI statement is correct, then what Shastri said has to be wrong. And if Shastri is right, then why was Jadeja included in the 13 for the second Test and made to field as substitute for a long period of time? There are no clear answers.

First up, Shastri dropped this bombshell. Asked about Jadeja, he began with a characteristic jibe at critics.

“When you are millions of miles away, it is very easy to fire blanks.” He then went on to explain why Jadeja was not considered for selection.

“Jaddu had taken an injection four days into coming to Australia because of stiffness in his shoulder. It took a while for that injection to settle down. At Perth, we felt he was about 70-80% fit and we didn’t want to risk that. If he is 80% here, he will play, that’s the answer,” he said.

It means Jadeja arrived in Australia not fully fit. It then leads to more questions. Why was he asked to bowl in the warm-up fixture and during nets? It also questions the role of physio Patrick Farhart at a time when yo-yo tests are mandatory before selection. Why was Jadeja cleared for the tour without further tests?

Later in the evening, the BCCI released a statement which said Jadeja had a problem which he got rid of before the team left for Australia.

“Jadeja complained of a left shoulder discomfort after prolonged bowling spells during the 2018 West Indies ODI series. He underwent a guided injection in Mumbai for this on 2nd November. This gave Jadeja good relief 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 in Australia.”

By this account, Jadeja was fully fit when he boarded the flight to Australia, but as the release adds, he again complained of the same issue on November 30, the final day of India’s warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI, where he bowled 11 overs.

Sources in the BCCI revealed to this newspaper that even during the selection committee meeting in Pune to pick the squad for the Tests on October 27, Jadeja’s injury concerns were raised. He was subsequently cleared based on fitness reports. If so, then whey did he require an injection six days after the meeting leaves more questions.

This isn’t the first time there has been confusion over the injury status of key players. During the England tour, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was fielded in the ODIs with an injury, which resulted in him missing the Test series.

Similarly, an unfit Ravichandran Ashwin was told to play the fourth Test. Even on the Australia tour, Prithvi Shaw was originally ruled out only for the Adelaide and Perth Tests, but ended up missing the entire series.