He will have to win matches with his batting ability: Gambhir wants Jadeja the batter to stand tall in CWC '23

India defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the Asia Cup final on Sunday (September 17) in Colombo to clinch their eighth title in the tournament history. Rohit Sharma-led India were asked to bowl first and rode on Mohammed Siraj's 6 for 21 to dismiss the islanders for 50 in 15.2 overs before chasing down the paltry total in 6.1 overs.

During their entire campaign, Team India were tested on several grounds before coming to their own in the summit clash. There were a lot of individual brilliance throughout the tournament for the Men in Blue, with the likes of Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Rohit, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav doing well.

Talking about Ravindra Jadeja, the spin-bowling all-rounder also claimed six wickets but didn't do anything significant with the bat.

Ahead of the India-Australia home ODIs, which kicks off on Friday (September 22) in Mohali followed by CWC 2023, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir opined that Jadeja will have to come good with the bat in the upcoming 50-over mega event.

Speaking to Star Sports, Gambhir -- the 2011 ODI World Cup winner -- said, "If Ishan Kishan plays at No. 5, there are question marks there as well. So Ravindra Jadeja will have to win matches with his batting ability because you might have a situation where you need 80 or 90 runs in 10 overs and the No. 6 and No. 7 batters might be playing together."

"Ravindra Jadeja has the ability but it is still debatable against top-quality bowling. The way he has contributed, no doubt he will fit in any playing XI, but India will be happy if Ravindra Jadeja is seen in good hitting form. There is a massive difference between good batting form and good hitting form," Gambhir further added.

Gambhir stressed that the ability to form partnerships down the order was something which was missing for India during Asia Cup 2023. Jadeja only managed25 runs in three innings in the just-concluded continental tournament. Thus, he will be looking forward to the India-Australia ODIs to get some runs under his belt before theWorld Cup gets underway.

After the Australia home ODIs, India will play two warm-up games -- on September 30 and October 03 -- before their CWC 2023 campaign gets off the mark on October 08, where they play Australia in Chennai. The World Cup commences on October 05 with defending champions England taking on New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

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