Indian all-rounder Kedar Jadhav sustained an injury in the Asia Cup finalé against Bangladesh after which he missed the first two ODIs against West Indies in Guwahati and Vizag. Ahead of the third face-off, a ‘fit-again’ Jadhav was drafted into the India A side in the ongoing Deodhar Trophy as the selectors wanted to assess his fitness before taking a call on his comeback.
The 33-year-old made his case with an unbeaten 41 off 25 as well as sent down five overs but the ODI team announced during the course of the Deodhar game didn't figure the Maharashtra player.
“I did not know this," said Jadhav when asked if there was any communication over his selection for the remaining three games against the West Indies.
“Let's see. You are the first one to tell me this. I need to see why they have not picked me. I don’t know what the plan is now that I am not there in the team. Probably, I will be playing the Ranji Trophy," he added.
His comments came in the wake of heavy criticism faced by the selectors for lack of communication with players before dropping them. Karun Nair and Murali Vijay had said they were not spoken to by the selectors before being dropped from the Test squad, a claim that chief selector MSK Prasad has denied.
Jadhav had made a comeback during the Asia Cup last month but the recurrence of the hamstring injury in the final led to another round of rehab.
Without mincing words, Jadhav said it hurts when one keeps getting injured when he is playing well.
“Rehab was good. I passed all the tests and came here match fit. It is all fine. Obviously, it hurts when you are in form and get injured. It creates uncertainty on when you will get the next opportunity. And when you come back, you have to start from scratch again as you end up missing a lot of matches. It hurts but you have to accept it and move on."
Do frequent injuries play on the mind?
“You can't be cautious when you play. Till the time you don't meet all the fitness criteria, the NCA people will not clear you. As long as they clear you, you should not be having doubts on the field. That is what why I don't hold myself back (even when it comes to diving on the field),” said Jadhav, giving an insight into his state of mind.
“Also, it is very important, to be honest with the physio. Then only they can give you the right feedback. You cannot hide things from physios and trainers, else you will only get exposed,” Jadhav said.