Mistaken identity lands Jadeja in dump

Cuttack:

In a curious case of mistaken identity that could cause serious embarrassment to national selectors, a Saurashtra Cricket Association official on Sunday claimed that little known Punjab player Ravi Inder Singh was thought to be prolific all-rounder Ravindrasinh Jadeja and got selected for the Challenger Trophy.

Saurashtra left-hander, Jadeja, last week scored an unbeaten 155 along with captain Cheteshwar Pujara (309) against Mumbai in the West Zone CK Nayudu Trophy at Rajkot.

While Pujara got a place in the Challenger Series, Jadeja was left out.

The selectors named Ravi Inder in India Blue side assuming he's the Saurashtra all-rounder, a Saurashtra Cricket Association official told PTI.

One of the selectors, in fact, conceded that it's a bloomer from their part but there was hardly any time to get it corrected.

Ravi Inder played in Blue's first match against the Red and scored 17 before being bowled by Laxmipathy Balaji.

For Blue's second match, captain Yuvraj Singh replaced Ravi Inder with Hyderabad batsman Arjun Yadav.

In fact, even the scorers during the first match confused Ravi Inder with Ravindra Jadeja.

20-year-old Ravi Inder, a left-handed batsman who also bowls off spin, played just six List A and six First Class matches.

Surprised at the exclusion of Jadeja from the Challenger Series, former India selector and coach Anshuman Gaekwad said, "I wonder why he does not figure among the 42 players representing Blue, Red and Green."

In September-October, Jadeja was picked for the unofficial 'Test' series against New Zealand A. The all-rounder played one out of two 'Tests' and had a match haul of three wickets and 37 runs.

Jadeja was part of the Under-19 team that lost the 2006 World Cup to Pakistan and played for champions Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL).