Head coach Ravi Shastri, on Sunday, claimed that Ravindra Jadeja had been suffering from stiff shoulder even before landing in Australia.
Jadeja was included in the 13-man squad for the Perth Test, while he also fielded for a major part of the two Australian innings in that game. And he did everything having taken an injection four days after going to Australia, Shastri claimed.
But late in the evening, the BCCI issued a release asserting Jadeja was fit for the Australia Tests. “All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja complained of a left shoulder discomfort after prolonged bowling spells during the 2018 West Indies ODI series. He underwent a guided injection in Mumbai for this on November 2.
“This gave Mr Jadeja good relief and he played in the Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra from November 12-15 in which he completed 64 overs without any issues. He was thereby declared fit by the BCCI and selected for the Test series against Australia,” the release said.
Shastri, while addressing the media in Melbourne, said: “The problem with Jadeja was that he had taken an injection four days after coming to Australia, because of some stiffness in his shoulder.
“It has taken a while for that injection to settle down. He had some stiffness when he was in India as well, but he did play domestic cricket after that. Then he felt the same on coming here to Australia and was injected.”
Now here’s what the Board release had to say. “After Jadeja flew to Australia, he then complained of a recurrence of his symptoms on November 30 during the (warm-up) match against the CA XI in Sydney. “He was given another injection into a slightly different site on that day. This injection along with his rehabilitation programme improved his symptoms.”
Shastri, for his part, said Jadeja would play in Melbourne even if he was only “80 per cent fit.”
“… Looking back at Perth, we felt he was 70-80 per cent fit and we didn’t want to risk him in the second Test. If he is 80 per cent fit here (in Melbourne), he will play,” the coach said.
The BCCI release, however, declared the left-arm spinner fit for the Boxing Day Test. “Jadeja’s left shoulder has continued to improve and he is now available for the third Test match of the series in Melbourne.”
At present, though, fitness is a big concern for the Indian team, which Shastri did admit. But Rohit Sharma, Shastri said, has made good recovery while Ashwin will be monitored “over the next 48 hours.”
“Fitness is the biggest concern. We will have to evaluate fitness in the next 24-hour period, take it one step at a time and also consider the conditions.
“As for Ashwin, we will evaluate him over the next 48 hours. Rohit looks good and has made a very good improvement, but we will see how he pulls up over the next two days. Hardik Pandya too is fit.”
Shastri, though, didn’t want to divulge if Pandya would come into the XI in the Boxing Day Test as he has played only one first-class match (against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy) after recovering from back injury.
“Pandya coming here gives you an option of playing five bowlers, but he has not played much first-class cricket. He has just played one game after injury, so we have to be very careful before we actually decide whether he plays or not,” Shastri said.
Shastri, meanwhile, dismissed all the criticisms the Indian team copped up after losing the second Test in Perth. Taking a dig at critics, but without taking any names, Shastri remarked: “When you are millions of miles away, it is very easy to fire blanks.”
According to Shastri, criticism from India doesn’t matter as it came from the northern hemisphere while the team is in the southern half of the world. “We have to do what’s best for the team, as simple as that,” he commented.
