AB de Villiers backs Ravindra Jadeja to return to ODI setup after being left out of AUS vs IND series

Former South African skipper AB de Villiers has put his weight behind Ravindra Jadeja to return to the ODI setup after the all-rounder could not get a place in the ODI squad for the series against Australia. Jadeja last played for India in ODIs in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The left-arm orthodox spinner scalped five wickets in five matches of the marquee tournament at an impressive economy rate of 4.36. 

Jadeja has been in tremendous form in the red-ball version. The left-hander scored 516 runs in five Test matches on the England tour and played a key role in the team’s success. 

Furthermore, the southpaw scored an unbeaten 104 against the West Indies in the opening Test at Ahmedabad and also scalped four wickets in the second essay and thus was awarded Player of the Match.

AB de Villiers said on his YouTube Channel, “Another surprise is no Ravindra Jadeja. They are touring Australia and remember the World Cup is in South Africa. One of the spinners will miss out and they’ve decided to go without Jaddu now. I wouldn’t say that is the end of the road for him. As we know he is in wonderful form now and bowling exceptionally well. He always chips in with the bat. But between him and Axar Patel, not an easy decision. I think Axar is definitely ahead in the T20 arena. This one was a bit trickier I think for the selectors. Not an easy call, but I do still feel it’s not the end of the road for Jaddu.”

AB added India has a balanced bowling attack with Kuldeep Yadav as the potential wicket-taker in the middle overs.

“The other spinners Washi Sundar and obviously also Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep Yadav out and out attacking bowler, wicket-taker with the others that can all chip in with both bat and ball. Really well-balanced team here I feel, really good seamers combined with some great batting as well.”

On the other hand, the selectors have decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah for the ODI series against Australia.

“Very interesting and important to note about Jasprit Bumrah here. I don’t know if he’s being rested or has a niggle maybe my team can help me. But he will obviously be part of the team’s plans moving forward. He’s been rested, there’s been spoken about that they’re going to have to sort of manage his workload. It’s an interesting series for him to rest. It’s a big one over there in Australia and an important one. The conditions are relatively similar to South Africa. It’s an interesting move but they will know what they’re doing.”

The first ODI between India and Australia will be played on October 19.