Reason revealed for excluding Jadeja from India ODI squad for Sri Lanka tour

India all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja's exclusion, paves the way for Washington Sundar and Axar Patel to step in, a strategy that could become the norm moving forward. 

According to sources, Jadeja is not currently part of the BCCI’s plans for ODI cricket, with the focus shifting towards building a future-ready team.

With only six ODIs scheduled before the Champions Trophy, the team management aims to give more game time to Axar and Sundar.

A source close to the situation informed the local news channel that while there's nothing wrong with Jadeja's performance, the management is focusing on building a team for the future.

“There are only six ODIs, including the three in Sri Lanka, before next year's Champions Trophy. The selectors want to utilise the handful of games by giving more opportunities to Axar Patel and Washington Sundar,” a BCCI source said.

“Nothing wrong with Jadeja's performance. The management just wants to look at other options as we have to build a team for the future,” he added.

Axar Patel, who missed the ODI World Cup 2023 due to an injury, has been impressive in the T20 format, contributing significantly to the team in the T20 World Cup 2024. He has played 57 ODIs, taking 60 wickets and scoring 489 runs. 

Washington Sundar, on the other hand, had a successful series in Zimbabwe and is expected to capitalise on his recent form in white-ball cricket.

India's squads for Sri Lanka series

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

IND vs SL Schedule:

T20I Series:

1st T20I: July 27 - 6:30 PM - Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
2nd T20I: July 28 - 6:30 PM - Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele
3rd T20I: July 30 - 6:30 PM - Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele

ODI Series:

1st ODI: August 2 - 2:00 PM - R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo
2nd ODI: August 4 - 2:00 PM - R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo
3rd ODI: August 7 - 2:00 PM - R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Colombo