Jayant traded to Mumbai Indians from Delhi Capitals

NEW DELHI: Off-spinner Jayant Yadav will play for Mumbai Indians in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League after being traded by Delhi Capitals. The 28-year-old was part of the Delhi franchise since 2015, playing in just 10 matches. He has represented India in four Tests and an ODI with his last international appearance coming in February 2017. Yadav recently represented India at the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup in Colombo.

Ravindra Jadeja has featured in just three of India’s last nine Tests. Only one of those was away from home — the fifth Test at the Oval when the series had already been lost against England — with his status as India’s second spinner seemingly set in stone.

It is unfortunate Jadeja finds himself part of a setup seemingly unable to settle on any formula in so many other areas of the team. Yet he has been unable to benefit significantly from the selectors’ unpredictability. What is more worrying for the all-rounder is that Hanuma Vihari, not him, replaced the injured R Ashwin at India’s defeat in Perth.

Vihari clearly has an abundance of talent and could well go on to become a mainstay in India’s middle order. He has also displayed a happy knack of picking up big wickets with his offspin — Alastair Cook and Joe Root at the Oval; Marcus Harris and Shaun Marsh in Perth, both on occasions when Australia were building significant partnerships.

But there remains a feeling that India are missing a trick by leaving out Jadeja. As an allround package, there can be few greater assets to a team in world cricket than him. Let’s first focus on his bowling, supposedly his strongest suit.

FASTEST SPINNER

Jadeja is the fastest spinner in world cricket; his average release speed in Tests since the start of 2017 is 89.19kph. That makes him somewhat unorthodox in home conditions where spinners have more of a tendency to toss the ball up and rely either on flight or turn off the Indian pitches. It is a statistic that makes it even more bizarre that Jadeja has only played two Tests outside Asia since 2014.

Based on his speed alone, and considering Nathan Lyon is second on this list, Jadeja would appear better suited for Australian conditions where the average speed for spinners’ wickettaking deliveries is 85.17kph,