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Indian batting all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, on Monday, June 3, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Sharing a retirement note clearly inspired by his good friend and legend MS Dhoni’s farewell message, the Maharashtra cricketer took to his official Instagram handle and wrote: "Thank you all For your love and support throughout my Career from 1500 hrs. Consider me as retired from all forms of cricket."
Along with the retirement note, the 39-year-old shared a compilation of images from his cricketing career, both at the international level and in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The pictures varied from on-field celebrations with teammates to some quirky snaps taken off the field. Jadhav shared the pictures with the popular Kishore Kumar track 'Zindagi Ke Safar Mein' playing in the background.
While he played only nine T20Is for India, the right-handed batter and part-time off-spinner was a lot more successful in his ODI career. In 73 matches, he scored 1,389 runs at an average of 42.09 and a strike rate of 101.60, with two hundreds and six fifties. With the ball, he has claimed 27 wickets at an economy rate of 5.15.
In the wake of Jadhav announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket, we analyze three reasons why his ODI record is underrated.
#1 Kedar Jadhav has an impressive ODI record against Australia and England
It’s a fact that Jadhav's one-day average of 42.09 has been inflated by 19 not outs in 52 innings. At the same time, it's also true that the right-handed batter performed admirably well against Australia and England in the ODI format, two of the strongest teams in international cricket.
In 12 innings against the Aussies, the 39-year-old scored 371 runs at an average of 46.37 and a strike rate of 87.70, with three fifties to his name. His best of 81* against Australia came off 87 balls in Hyderabad in March 2019 as India chased down a target of 237 with six wickets in hand. Jadhav's knock came against a strong bowling line-up featuring Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa.
The middle-order batter also contributed 67 off 69 in Bengaluru in September 2017 and 61* off 57 in Melbourne in January 2019. Jadhav added an unbroken 121 runs for fourth wicket with Dhoni (87* off 114) at the MCG as the Men in Blue registered a thumping win by seven wickets, chasing down a target of 231 with ease.
Shifting focus to his one-day record against England, Jadhav played four innings against them and smashed 244 runs at an excellent average of 81.33 and a strike rate of 140.22, with one hundred and one fifty.
The right-handed batter hammered a superb 120 off 76 balls in Pune in January 2017, a whirlwind knock that featured 12 fours and four sixes. India were set to chase a mammoth 351 in the clash, but Jadhav and Virat Kohli (122 off 105) combined to add exactly 200 runs for the fifth wicket. The former also contributed a valiant 90 off 75 in Eden Gardens in 2017 as India went down fighting in a chase of 322.
#2 He picked up crucial wickets with his uncanny bowling action
Jadhav's unconventional slingy bowling action became the subject of some memes. However, the cricketer took his bowling seriously and it reflected in the number of crucial wickets he picked up in his ODI career, breaking quite a few partnerships at key moments in a match.
The all-rounder's best of 3-23 came against Pakistan in Dubai in 2018, a match in which he picked up the wickets of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali and Shadab Khan. Jadhav also claimed 3-29 against New Zealand in Mohali in October 2016, picking up the wickets of Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson and Tom Latham.
The off-spinner chipped in with key wickets in a number of other matches. Had his bowling not lost sting towards the second half of his ODI career, Jadhav would surely have played a lot more white-ball matches for India.
#3 He possess an excellent ODI record in matches that India won
While Jadhav has an impressive one-day record overall, his performance in winning causes is even more praiseworthy. The Men in Blue won 54 of the 73 one-day matches that he played in. In these games, he scored 948 runs at an average of 49.89.
Significantly, both of the right-hander's tons came in winning causes. He also registered four of his six half-centuries in one-day matches that Team India won. If we talk about his bowling, 23 of his 27 scalps were taken in games that the Men in Blue emerged triumphant in. Jadhav averages 33.78 with ball in winning causes, compared to his overall ODI bowling average of 37.77.
