IPL auctions: ‘Kedar Jadhav is worth the money’
Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave feels the India all-rounder excels when he has lesser number of balls; he also believes Jadhav could be a handy bowler for Chennai Super Kings.
Published : Jan 30, 2018 22:50 IST
India all-rounder Kedar Jadhav may have made heads turn when the Chennai Super Kings signed him for a jaw-dropping Rs 7.8 Crore at this year's IPL auction.
But according to Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave, "Kedar's totally worth the money he's getting. He may have had a patchy IPL last year but played really well for India - that's definitely a few levels above. If he's in good form in South Africa, he'll be an impact player come April."
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Bhave, who was a national selector until 2011, believes, "Kedar excels when he has lesser number of balls. Even for India, when he doesn't have too many deliveries at his disposal he scores at a very brisk pace. Maybe CSK will be tempted to use him at No. 5 or 6."
Jadhav, who has represented the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Delhi Daredevils (DD) and now defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK), has 893 runs from 64 games at a strike-rate of 134.89.
And if "he (Kedar) looks after his fitness, he's a pretty destructive T20 player," Bhave said before adding, "His general idea of cricket is to go after loose deliveries. Kedar has that special talent for manufacturing shots when the ball's not there - he shuffles around the crease, gets into good position and makes sure he strikes at least at 140."
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The diminutive batsman likes to roll his arm now and then and has 16 wickets from 37 ODIs at 5.19. However, he has never bowled an over in the IPL and Bhave is of the opinion that, "with M.S. Dhoni leading CSK, there's every possibility he (Kedar) might be called in for one or two overs - sometimes, you need smart bowlers, especially after the powerplay, to slip in a few deceptive overs."