MS Dhoni the reason behind Kedar Jadhav's rise in ODIs
Former Indian cricket team skipper, MS Dhoni has been one of the best leaders in recent times and his talent of spotting champions has been a success story. Like another former captain, Sourav Ganguly, the veteran Dhoni is a born leader and knows how to get things working during difficult situations. Kedar Jadhav's phenomenal rise is another example of Dhoni's brilliance.
Utility man Jadhav has taken his chances
Kedar's return to the Indian team for the Asia Cup 2018 has been a memorable one till now. He delivered a stunning performance of 3/23 against Pakistan as India won the match. Known as the utility man in the side, Jadhav is a natural batsman with excellent finishing skills. But he also lends support with the ball and often takes wickets.
Jadhav made his ODI debut back in 2014
Jadhav made his India debut in 2014 in an ODI match against Sri Lanka. His next outings for India were against Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Both times, India had sent a second-string side. But Jadhav's main moment came when he played against New Zealand in an ODI match in Dharamsala in October 2016. Dhoni changed Jadhav's career from there on.
Dharamsala the place where Kedar's life changed
Dhoni gave Kedar the ball and he picked up 2 wickets in Dharamsala. He had impressed MSD earlier and the move worked. Kedar finished with six wickets in the series. Since then, he may not have picked a bagful of wickets, but on most occasions he has chipped in with the ball. In 42 matches, he has 19 wickets to his name.
Jadhav a regular force in the Indian ODI team
Jadhav has gone on to become a regular feature of this Indian ODI team. He missed the series against England due to an injury. But now he is back and is already showing his value. He scored a decent unbeaten 28 against Hong Kong, followed by his heroics against Pakistan. He has been a pivotal lower middle-order batsman and has a decent average (41.30).
Jadhav one of Dhoni's success stories in ODIs
Over the years, Dhoni has been a chief architect of this Indian team. Jadhav has been one of his success stories in ODI cricket besides the likes of Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Jadhav has become a bowler with excellent skill set. He bowls really slow and has a low arm action. His stump-to-stump bowling has paid dividends.
'Dhoni has changed my life completely'
Jadhav feels that Dhoni has changed his life completely since he asked him to bowl in Dharamsala. Jadhav told ESPN Cricinfo, "If you've to play in the Indian team, as long as you keep contributing, you should be happy. Since the time Dhoni asked me to bowl in the New Zealand series, my life has completely changed and I feel confident about it."
Dada's out-of-the-box moves were laudable as well
When Ganguly captained India, he was known for his out-of-the-box thinking. Dada also gave caps to several rising players and majority of them had tremendous success. From Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag to MS Dhoni himself, Dada's vision was laudable. A thinking captain, he also got Rahul Dravid to don the wicket-keeping role in ODIs to make way for an extra batsman.
