Pundits have often criticised the Indian Premier League for encouraging unorthodox batting in an effort to score quick runs. But Kedar Jadhav — always considered as someone cut out for the shorter versions due to his aggressive style of batting — begs to differ.
Jadhav feels that one can’t generalise as cricket is a game which is situation-oriented and while certain batsmen have definitely innovated to succeed in the T20 league, it has taught him the importance of playing responsibly.
A look at the statistics — midway into this season’s Ranji Trophy — definitely shows that Jadhav’s record backs his claim. Maharashtra’s Jadhav is sitting pretty at the top of the batting chart with 613 runs from four matches — in the premier four-day tournament of the country.
More than the runs, it is the consistency that is impressive.
In the six innings that he has played, he has scored three hundreds and one fifty.
In fact, two of his three hundreds have been big ones. While he hit 204 against Hyderabad, he hit 173 against Andhra Pradesh.
“Unfortunately, Delhi Daredevils didn’t have a really good season last year and quite a few times we were faced with situations where I had to come in to bat with the team placed precariously."
“But on hindsight, it taught me the importance of spending quality time in the middle and also how I can build on an innings rather than go all-out from the word go. I feel the IPL has definitely made me appreciate responsible batting,” he told Mail Today.
While his team is mighty pleased with his performance, Jadhav is not yet happy with his performance as he feels that talent has never been an issue with him and the problem has been his inability to spend long hours at the crease — a concern that still persists.
“See, I never felt that I don’t belong to this level. The problem is that before, I used to score quick fifties and then get out, now I am scoring quick hundreds."
“I haven’t spent enough time at the crease. I believe that if I can spend time in the middle and sweat it out, I can score big runs more consistently Maharashtra batsman wants to score big runs consistently and play for the country consistently and that would augur well for both the team and me,” the 28-year-old said.
“If you go through the scorecard of the Maharashtra-UP match in 2012, you will see that even in that match, I had scored 327 off just 312 balls.
“And that is exactly what I mean. I am trying to work on going slow and steady. I won’t say that I have succeeded completely, but I am improving for sure.” Although Jadhav has done well for the Daredevils last season, there will be fresh auctions this year and most domestic players are worried about their fate.
In fact, domestic players are trying their best to impress team owners with good performances in the Ranji Trophy, but Jadhav feels that playing for the country is his prime focus.
“I have already played in the IPL and I have put in my best effort for the Daredevils. I know this year we have fresh auctions coming up, but I am not too worried about it. At the end of the day, I want to play for the country and that is all I am looking at,” he signed off.
