‘He will play all the World Cup matches’ – Sanjay Manjrekar’s major verdict on Ravindra Jadeja ahead of ODI World Cup

The Men in Blue registered a 10-wicket win against Nepal in the Asia Cup on September 4 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Notably, some of the performances have stood out. The Nepal team scored 230 runs before getting all out in  48.2 overs. India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja proved to be the premier bowler, as he took three crucial wickets to dismantle Nepal’s batting line-up. Notably, a plethora of former cricketers and cricket pundits heap praise on him. Former India cricketer turned analyst Sanjay Manjrekar is one of them.

The cricket commentator feels the 34-year-old cricketer will get the chance to feature in all the matches of the upcoming ODI World Cup owing to his stellar form. Notably, the 58-year-old cricketer believes Ravindra Jadeja will be the first choice over Axar Patel as an all-rounder in the marquee event, which is all set to commence exactly a month from now.

Ravindra Jadeja will be the first-choice spin-bowling all-rounder: Sanjay Manjrekar

“There is a very good chance, it’s almost a certainty that he will play all the World Cup matches. India can’t do without him. Axar Patel will be there in the reserves but Jadeja will be the first-choice spin-bowling all-rounder. If the pitch is rough, if you have got a quality opposition, he will finish in 10 overs,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, the former batter clarified that it’s not fair to compare Ravindra Jadeja’s batting with that of former all-rounder and 2011 World Cup-winning squad member Yuvraj Singh. The right-handed batter sees the off-spinner as the bowling all-rounder rather than the batter. In addition, the former middle-order batter feels Jadeja’s white-ball career has improved from past years.

“But the batting all-rounder we had in 2011, Yuvraj Singh. It’s not fair to compare his batting with Jadeja. So I see him more as a bowling all-rounder with somebody who can be a threat at No. 7 or No.8. His white-ball career has changed completely in the last few years,” he added further.