Manjrekar Jadeja web ST

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Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed that India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja may not find a place in the national team and cement his place in the team for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

Ravindra Jadeja had a forgettable run in the 2022 Indian Premier League season where the Chennai Super Kings all-rounder managed to score only 116 runs in 10 games at an average of 19.33 and a strike rate of 118.37. Whereas with the ball, his struggles continued as he managed to pick only 5 wickets in the IPL. 

Manjrekar added that the all-rounder, who generally comes out to bat at lower batting positions for India in T20Is, will find it difficult to find his place in this year’s World Cup team as the Men in Blue might pick all-rounder Axar Patel instead of Jadeja. 

It’s not really going to be easy for Jadeja to come: Manjrekar

The former Mumbai batter said, “Clearly, Dinesh Karthik has shown that he can be a number 6 or 7 as a pure batter. The impact that he is making is phenomenal and we saw that in T20Is against South Africa and also in the IPL. So, it’s not really going to be easy for Jadeja to come in and take his place and India might settle in with somebody like Axar Patel.” 

The side now has Hardik Pandya, Karthik batting down the order: Manjrekar

He then talked about how the position Jadeja bats at already has some key players who have performed well in that role. "The side now has Hardik Pandya, Karthik batting down the order. Rishabh Pant is also there so it's not going to be easy for him. But knowing the kind of player Jadeja is, he will be making sure that the headache doesn't get less for the selectors," he added.

A few years back, Sanjay Manjrekar had made some comments about Jadeja and got himself in a controversy after calling the all-rounder a bits and pieces player. He said, “I am not a big fan of bits and pieces players which Jadeja is at this point of his career in 50-over cricket. In Test matches, he is a pure bowler. But in 50-over cricket, I would rather have a batsman and a spinner.”