Senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Ravindra Jadeja is still in with a chance to make India’s World Cup squad on the back of his all-round skills but to survive purely as a finger spinner, he will have to improvise.
Wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have become India’s preferred choices in the shorter formats over the last 18 months, while Jadeja and R Ashwin have gone down in the pecking order.
Harbhajan, who has played three 50-over World Cups including two finals, is still not ready to count Jadeja out even though he was not a part of the playing XI during the just-concluded ODIs in New Zealand.
“If you remember, during the 2017 Champions Trophy, the weather in UK was hot and humid. So, if conditions are same, Jadeja could still be used as a package, if the opposition team has five to six right-handers in their line-up. Play him as No.6 with Hardik Pandya as No.7. Also he is still your best fielder,” Harbhajan told agencies during an exclusive interview.
One of the finest off-spinners of his generation, Harbhajan agreed that finger spinners’ stocks are down compared to wrist spinners.
“The art of reading the spinners out of the hand is on the decline. Most of the overseas batsmen, if you see, are trying to read wrist spinners after pitching and that’s dangerous,” he lamented.
