The Indian cricket team seems to continue to reel from the defeat in the second Test Match against Australia in Perth, with internal bickering over not playing a spinner still continuing days short of the Boxing Day Test.
Captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri copped stinging criticism over the selection of the playing eleven for Perth Test.
Defending the decision not to play all-rounder Ravinder Jadeja in the match, coach Ravi Shastri told reporters on Sunday that the left-arm spinner had been carrying an injury.
“The problem with Jaddu [Ravindra Jadeja] was that he had taken some injection four days into coming to Australia, because of some stiffness in his shoulder. And it took a while for that injection to settle down,” Shastri said.
“It took longer than we expected and the last thing we want is someone breaking down after just five or ten overs,” he added.
However, Sitanshu Kotak, the coach of Jadeja’s domestic team Saurashtra contradicted Shastri and claimed that Jadeja was fit while playing the domestic cricket.
“There was no fitness issue at all when he [Jadeja] was playing for Saurashtra. Neither there was any stiffness which you are talking about. Had there been any stiffness or any injury he would have not played Ranji Trophy, or at least he would have told us,” Kotak told The Indian Express.
Kotak said Jadeja had two the nets sessions for two days ahead of the Ranji game against the Indian Railways, during which he batted and did fielding drills.
“He was present for four days at the ground. His scores will speak for himself, in two innings he bowled. He batted well for us and scored a hundred too,” he said. “If he was feeling any pain or stiffness, do you think he would have bowled so many overs?”
“He was perfectly fit when he was with us. I don’t know what happened once he left Saurashtra team. He came to the Ranji Trophy game perfectly fit,” Kotak added.
The Indian head coach seems to have opened himself and the team management to further criticism with his comments over Jadeja’s injury with experts questioning his inclusion in the squad if he was already carrying an injury.
The team management's handling of player injuries has come under intense scrutiny recently and the scathing criticism over Shastri's comments prompted the BCCI to clarify the issue through a statement.
The Board said Jadeja complained of discomfort in his left shoulder during the ODI series against West Indies and he took an injection in Mumbai on 2nd November which gave the all-rounder a "good relief".
The statement added that Jadeja bowled 64 over in a Ranji game "without any issues" and he was declared fit by the BCCI for the Test series against Australia. However, he complained of "recurrence of his symptoms" on 30th November during a match against Cricket Australia XI in Sydney.
"He was given another injection into a slightly different site on that day. This injection along with his rehabilitation program improved his symptoms," the statement read.
"In the lead up to the Perth Test match on 14th December, the management and the all-rounder were of the opinion that the intensity of his bowling in the nets could have been higher, to match the standards required for such an intensely fought series. For this reason, he was not considered for selection for the 2nd Test match."
Shastri during his interaction with reporters said Jadeja was only "70-80%" fit in Perth, and that "if he is 80%" here [in Melbourne], "he will play. The BCCI declared him fit to play the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
"Mr Jadeja’s left shoulder has continued to improve and he is now available for the 3rd Test match of the series in Melbourne," the BCCI said in a statement.
