"Ravindra Jadeja Was Perfectly Fit With Us": Saurashtra Coach Negates Ravi Shastri's Injury Claim

Ravi Shastri on Sunday had said that Ravindra Jadeja was left out of the Perth Test as he was only 70-80 per cent fit. And that led to some serious criticism of the Indian coach on social media, especially Twitter. Now, Saurashtra's coach Sitanshu Kotak, in an interview to The Indian Express, has negated Shastri's claim, saying that the Indian all-rounder was "perfectly fit" while playing for Saurashtra during the ongoing Ranji Trophy season.

“There was no fitness issue at all when he (Jadeja) was playing for Saurashtra. Neither there was any stiffness which you are talking about. Had there been any stiffness or any injury he would have not played Ranji Trophy, or at least he would have told us,” Kotak said.

Kotak further elaborated on how Jadeja actually was during his recent cricket practice session with Saurashtra against the Railways. “He joined the team and had two days nets session before our Ranji Trophy game started. He batted and took part in fielding drills. He was present for four days at the ground. His scores will speak for himself, in two innings he bowled. He batted well for us and scored a hundred too.”

However, on Sunday the BCCI had cleared that Ravindra Jadeja will be available for selection for the upcoming third Test between India and Australia, which begins on December 26 in Melbourne. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made the announcement on Sunday evening, stating, “Mr. Jadeja's left shoulder has continued to improve and he is now available for the 3rd Test match of the series in Melbourne.” However, frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is still doubtful for the Boxing Day Test.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Ravindra Jadeja Ravi Shastri Australia vs India 2018/19 Australia vs India, 3rd Test Cricket