Dropped from T20 team, Jadhav feels the heat at home

PUNE: Kedar Jadhav needed a rap from the selectors after a below par performance with the bat in the last nine months. He got it in the form of his sacking from India's T20 team against New Zealand. Now, the onus is on him to prove the selectors wrong by playing important knocks in the remaining two ODIs against New Zealand.
Jadhav, 32, Man of the Series in the home ODI series against England in January, likes to prove his detractors wrong. His friends from the Indian team visited his home in Kothrud on Monday night. On Wednesday, he plays the second ODI on his home turf at Gahunje. Though memories of his 120 in a big chase against England on that very ground in January are afresh, professional sportsmen are measured on current form rather than a memorable past.
Jadhav's sequence of ODI scores post the England series is: 25*, 9, 13*, 40*, 10, 1, 0, 63, 40, 24, 2, 67, 5*, 12. Just two fifties in 14 innings. In six innings, he didn't get to bat.
It can always be argued that he comes in to bat lower down the order and hence doesn't get enough time. But he was tried at the No. 4 position in this phase ahead of Manish Pandey. In those three innings, he came up with 1, 5*, 12. Not sublime by any standards.
His average of 31 in this phase is not bad. But batting lower down the order increases his chances to remain not out. Without 'not outs', his score per innings in this phase is 22.21.
Come to think of it, Jadhav has managed to retain his place in the team due to his surprising bowling exploits. But then, his bowling, at best, is a surprise element. And surprises without real substance are not expected to write many new and effective chapters.
Though Jadhav has not got a chance to play against top-notch bowling sides in challenging conditions, he backs himself in tough situations. He has a combination of orthodox and unorthodox shots in his book. His cheeky shots on the off-side and paddle-slog combination of the on side have given him runs. But more than that, the way he can dispatch the bowlers over widish long-on takes one's breath away.
But his shot selection, execution of the cut shot and fielding needs some serious work. He has got out in 10 different ways ­ literally-in ODIs recently. A miscued pull against Pakistan in the CT final; bowled off a googly , a bat-pad catch against leg-spin (both off Lanka's Dananjaya); deceived by a slower ball; and finally ,a return catch to the left-arm spinner's slower ball.
In between, his cut shot has gone wrong in varied ways: either finding a keeper, a fieldsman or his timber. That would have hurt him because he is strong off the back foot.
Now, Jadhav will be tested in another facet: the art of channelising anger. Can he come up with another big surprise so that the selectors could ignore his failures to capitalise on good batting starts earlier?