Veteran Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had a poor series with both bat and ball against New Zealand. The 37-year-old left-arm spinner went wicketless in the three-match one-day series against the Kiwis, which the Men in Blue lost 2-1. With the bat, the southpaw failed to post a single score of note.
India won the first ODI in Vadodara by four wickets. Jadeja, however, was dismissed for four. With the ball, he registered figures of 0-56 in nine overs. In the second one-dayer in Rajkot, he made a labored 27 off 44 balls. With the ball, he had figures of 0-44 from eight overs. In Indore, Jadeja conceded 41 runs in six overs and was out for 12 off 16 in the chase.
In the wake of the seasoned all-rounder’s poor performance in the one-day series against New Zealand, many fans and experts reckon that Jadeja must be dropped from the format. In this feature, we look at five worrying stats which make a strong case for the Men in Blue to move on from the all-rounder in ODIs.
#1 Shocking decline in wicket-taking ability
Jadeja has claimed 232 wickets in 210 ODIs at an average of 36.54 and a strike rate of 4.88, with two five-fers and seven four-fers. The numbers might not be extraordinary, but are pretty decent. In recent times, though, the left-arm spinner’s wicket-taking ability in ODIs has taken a massive hit.
Jadeja was surprisingly picked in the one-day team for the home series against South Africa ahead of Axar Patel. He played all three matches against the Proteas and the three games against the Kiwis as well. In these six ODIs combined, he has managed just one wicket at an average of 298 runs. Since the start of 2025, he has 12 scalps in 13 ODIs at an average of 45.16.
#2 Jadeja’s economy rate has gone up
While Jadeja has not always been a wicket-taking bowler in ODIs, he has often made up for lack of wickets with his economy rate, keeping things extremely tight. However, in recent one-day matches, this skill of Jadeja has also been on the wane. Not only has he proved expensive, but has failed to take wicket as well.
In the three-match one-day series against South Africa, the veteran left-arm spinner had an economy rate of 6.28. In the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand, the all-rounder finished with an economy rate of 6.13. In contrast, he had an economy rate of 4.35 in five matches during the Champions Trophy played in the UAE in February-March 2025.
#3 Not bowling his full quota of overs
Since the start of 2025, Jadeja has completed his full quota on 10 overs in only two out of 13 matches. He registered figures of 3-35 from 10 overs against England in Cuttack in February 2025. Also, he claimed 1-30 from 10 overs in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in Dubai.
The Champions Trophy final was the last instance of Jadeja bowling 10 overs in an ODI. He bowled 25 overs across three one-dayers against South Africa and 23 overs in the three-match ODI series against the Kiwis. In the one-dayer in Indore on Sunday, he bowled only six overs, while giving away 41 runs.
#4 Lack of impact as a finisher
In his overall ODI career, Jadeja has scored 2,905 runs in 142 innings at an average of 32.27 and a strike rate of 85.54. The left-handed batter has struggled to bat fluently in recent times. As a result, his strike rate has taken a hit as he failed to make an impact as a finisher.
Since the start of 2023, Jadeja has a strike rate of 80.63 in 27 ODI innings. Looking at some of his recent knocks, the 37-year-old scored 24* off 27 balls against South Africa in Raipur and 27 off 44 against New Zealand in Rajkot.
#5 No ODI 50 in more than five years
Jadeja has only scored 13 half-centuries in 142 ODI innings. The last instance of him crossing a half-century in ODIs was registered against Australia in Canberra in December 2020. He scored 66* off 50 balls, hitting five fours and three sixes. His last ODI half-century in India came way back in January 2013 when he scored 61 off 37 balls came against England in Kochi.
Edited by Renin Wilben Albert
