A few weeks back, Ravindra Jadeja was not amused when an online poll conducted by his IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings suggested his best batting position was No. 8. "No. 8 too early for me! Put me at 11," was Jadeja's peeved reply.
Over the years, the southpaw has been assigned the role of a designated finisher. But the Rajkot allrounder's batting has improved by leaps and bounds in the past 12 months, something which could have tempted India skipper Rohit Sharma to promote the left-hander to No. 4 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka.
Jadeja missed India's last two series - against South Africa and the West Indies - as he was undergoing rehabilitation for a knee injury which he sustained during the home Test series against New Zealand last November.
On Thursday, he hardly got a chance to showcase his batting prowess, scoring three off four balls. But going by Rohit's words, Jadeja could be a regular feature at the crucial No. 4 position as India look to finalise the combinations in the lead up to the World Cup, which will be held in Australia in October-November.
"Very happy with Jadeja's return. We want more from him, that is why we asked him to bat higher. You will see this happening more and more in the games that he plays for India. I want him to bat up the order more," Rohit said.
"He is a vastly improved batter, so we will try and see if we can promote him going forward. We are very clear with what we want to achieve with him in white-ball cricket."
It was only the second time in his 56-match T20I career that Jadeja batted at No. 4. He was last promoted to the spot in 2009 during a T20 World Cup game against England, in which he scored 25 runs.
