Ravindra Jadeja is all set to play for Saurashtra in their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Delhi in Rajkot, starting January 23. The India all-rounder turned up for practice in Rajkot on Sunday, January 19 and confirmed his availability for the next round of the premier first-class domestic cricket tournament.
Jadeja’s confirmation comes a day after India captain Rohit Sharma confirmed he would turn up to play for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir on January 23 in Mumbai.
Unlike a few other established players, Jadeja played domestic cricket as recently as last year. The all-rounder featured in a Ranji Trophy game against Tamil Nadu during the final statge of his recovery from an injury concern.
“Jadeja has turned up for training today. He will play the next match,” Saurashtra Cricket Association president Jaydev Shah told PTI news agency.
Jadeja was one of India’s better performers with the bat during the Australia tour. He scored 135 runs at an average of 41 in three Tests. The 36-year-old all-rounder was named in India’s Champions Trophy squad, which was announced by the BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Saturday in Mumbai.
Star players have shown interest in playing domestic cricket after the Indian cricket board, in its 10-point disciplinary guidelines, made it mandatory for players to play domestic cricket to be eligible for senior national team selection. The strict directives came after India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and failed to reach the World Test Championship final for the first time.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will also turn up to play for their respective domestic sides (Mumbai and Punjab) in the upcoming round of the tournament.
