Chennai, India

Fit-again Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been named in Saurashtra’s star-studded squad for their upcoming Elite Group B Ranji Trophy game match against Tamil Nadu. Out since August last year following a knee injury during the Asia Cup in Dubai, Jadeja is now deemed fit and will play his first competitive match in over five months. With the Border-Gavaskar trophy scheduled to begin in over two weeks from now, this clash against Tamil Nadu will prove vital for Jadeja who is supposed to prove his fitness in order to make a return to the playing XI in the Indian team.

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While the match will take place from January 24-27 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Jadeja will join the Saurashtra camp on Sunday, January 22nd. Speaking to Sportstar, Saurashtra’s coach Niraj Odedra said that everyone is excited to have the star all-rounder back after so long.

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Detailing about the chat he had with Jadeja on WhatsApp, Niraj said, “His training and workload will be as per the National Cricket Academy (NCA) protocols. In fact, I had sent Jaddu a WhatsApp text saying that the boys are really excited to have him back. He immediately wrote back saying he is looking forward to catching up with the team. It’s been a while since he played Ranji Trophy for Saurashtra. A player of that calibre joining the team is a huge morale boost as well.”

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After he suffered a knee injury in Dubai, Jadeja underwent a surgery that kept him out of the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, where India got bowed out in the semis against England. The 34-year-old was then named in the squad for the Bangladesh series but later got ruled out.

Now after examining his condition, Jadeja was named in India’s squad for the first two Tests against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar series that will begin on February 9th in Nagpur.