Is Ravindra Jadeja suitable for S Africa?

AHMEDABAD: Saurashtra's three-Test-old Ravindra Jadeja has been described as a sofa-cum-bed. Everyone knows his inadequacies and it feels churlish to keep banging it in but what can you do?

He is a Test player and there is bound to be spotlight that will show up his weakness. Like that sofa-cum-bed. Jadeja has become a necessity in a team that is struggling to find that extra player who can both bat and bowl. And just like it, he is a compromise arrangement-- a workable solution at home conditions.

But just wonder about the pressure, and self-doubts, he must be keeping from invading his mental space. Doesn't he feel the pressure? Don't the self-doubts threaten to choke him up mentally?

His Ranji team-mate Sitanshu Kotak revealed something interesting recently. Recalling the time when Jadeja was out of the Indian team and was harangued by all and sundry, Kotak talked about he was surprised by the young man's confidence.

"Jadeja would say to me, "Bhai, ek aur baar khilayenge, toh zaroor acha karoonga. (if they give me one more chance, I will definitely grab it)," Kotak has said then.

Jadeja can never make it to the team purely on the basis of his batting or his left arm spin. Not many really regard his two triple tons in a season as a serious proof that he can perform wonders against international attack.

So how right is it to call him an allrounder? Not at all actually but if you are an Indian cricket follower who has seen the likes of Lakshmi Ratan Shukla, Ritender Singh Sodhi, Dinesh Mongia and even Sourav Ganguly being labeled as all-rounder at some point in their careers, nothing should surprise.

In the three Tests that Jadeja has played so far, he has shown a bit of that confidence to kill doubts-self-inflicted and those that floods in from outside - that Kotak alluded to by bowling effectively.

In the second Test, where his six wickets came for just 66 runs, he got Michael Clarke in both innings. But the thing is that he was well aided by spin-friendly pitches and spin-scared Australian batsman.

While he might have ticked the bowling check-box, his batting has been woefully exposed in the three Tests with scores of 10, 16 and 12 in three innings.

All this means that when that India travel abroad, which they will in next two years to South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia, the focus might once again shift to Irfan Pathan.

The left-arm all-rounder is on another comeback trail after a knee injury. Irfan is certainly a better batsman and his swing and pace will be handier in those off-shore destinations. But all this only if he can stay fit.