World Cup dream alive and kicking! Ravindra Jadeja confirms Vijay Hazare Trophy participation | Cricket News

India’s Ravindra Jadeja celebrates after taking the wicket of South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma during the third ODI cricket match of a series between India and South Africa, at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) (PTI12_06_2025_000215A)

New Delhi: India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has confirmed his participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Saurashtra and is likely to feature in two fixtures on January 6 and January 8 against Services and Gujarat, respectively. Both the games will be played in Alur and as per Jadeja’s communication with the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), he will turn up for both the matches.“Yes, he has confirmed to play these two games on January 6 and January 8. This is the plan for now,” a senior SCA official told TimesofIndia.com.

There could be an alteration to the plan if Jadeja is picked for the ODIs against New Zealand and the team assembles early in Vadodara for the series opener on January 11. As of now, he is likely to get game time in the last two group stage games.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Jadeja was overlooked for the ODIs in Australia but returned for the recently-concluded series against South Africa. Pipped by Axar Patel for the series Down Under, the 37-year-old managed to pick only one wicket in the three games and contributed 56 runs with the bat in the two innings he batted. There were speculations after the Australia snub that Jadeja was no longer in the scheme of things and chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s comment further fuelled the fire.“He is very much in the plans. But there will be some competition for places. Of course, he was there in the Champions Trophy squad, because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there. At the moment, we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi and Kuldeep there as well. And I don’t think we are going to need more than that in Australia,” Agarkar had said after the team for the Australia series was announced.

The left-hander is 37 and facing stiff competition from Axar Patel for the spot. Unlike the Champions Trophy in Dubai, India are highly unlikely to carry two left-arm spin all-rounders for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. In absence of Jadeja in Australia, Axar returned as the second highest run-getter for India in the series with 75 runs in three innings and picked three wickets in as many as games.