'That is not a good story. This is a bit shocking': Ex-Indian batter concerned India star

With less than two weeks until the ICC ODI World Cup in India, Rohit Sharma and his team will be looking forward to continuing their form in the prestigious tournament. India, who recently became the Asian champions after defeating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets, will now take on Australia in a three-match ODI series as part of their preparation for the World Cup.

3 things you need to know 

• India and Australia will play the first ODI on September 22 in Mohali
• Ravindra Jadeja has not been at his best recently with the bat in ODI format
• Jadeja will look to provide his best services to the Indian Cricket Team in the WC

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Aakash Chopra makes a huge statement about Ravindra Jadeja 

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra claimed that there are worries about all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's poor form with the bat in ODIs ahead of the World Cup. While Jadeja's status as the No. 8 batter has received a lot of attention, Chopra pointed out that he has also had difficulty batting at the No. 7 spot in ODIs.

Chopra presented some figures on Jadeja's ODI batting performances to clarify the situation. After the 2019 World Cup ended, Jadeja's batting average went up from 31.9 to 39.4. But his strikerate has decreased. Jadeja consistently had an 84.2 strike percentage during his career; but following the 2019 World Cup, it dropped to 79.4.

In terms of his 2023 ODI record, Jadeja participated in 12 games, scoring 138 runs at an average of 23 and reaching his top score of 45 not out. During a discussion on his YouTube channel, Chopra voiced his reservations regarding Jadeja's lacklustre ODI batting performance. He said: 

“If you take out that innings of 45 not out, his average comes down to 15. That is not a good story. He bats down the order, but still there are a lot of single-digit scores.”

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Ravindra Jadeja has yet to score a sixer in the ODI format in the last 9 months. 

Talking about this, Chopra added: 

“Another aspect that is worrying is that he has played 243 balls in 2023, has hit nine fours and is still to hit a six. This is a bit shocking. Hopefully, he does it in the World Cup and the ODI series before that where he is the vice-captain. But the numbers are not good and it has to change as Jadeja is a very vital cog. We are talking about No. 8, but Jadeja needs to score at No. 7,” 

Team India recently won the Asia Cup 2023, and Jadeja was part of the winning squad. However, looking at his batting in the continental competition, he recorded only 25 runs in three innings during the competition. He will now be seen in action against Australia (ODI series), and Netherlands and England (warm-up games) and will be looking forward to assist the team with bat more like he does with the ball.