Mumbai: India’s three-day win over South Africa in the Mohali Test saw a memorable comeback from all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The southpaw scored a valuable 38 in India’s first innings and ended up with a fifer in the second.
Many cricketers in the past have rolled back to the proceedings the same way Jadeja did after being left out of the squad for a while. Let’s have a look.
VVS Laxman
He was young, wristy having the sparks of Mohammad Azharuddin. His debut Test was won by India (against South Africa, Ahmedabad 1996) but he was left out of the squad for almost a year. He was later picked for the second Test against Australia in 1998 when he scored 95 as an opener. His opening stand (191) with Navjot Sidhu crushed Australia’s confidence. India won the Test by an innings and 219 runs.
Zaheer Khan
The left-arm pacer was dropped from the Test squad in early 2006 for lacklustre performances. With a fire to hit the deck, Zaheer went to Worcestershire to improve himself and ended up claiming 78 wickets in 16 matches. He was called for the tour of South Africa soon. The first Test at Johannesburg saw him run through the Proteas with a match-haul of five wickets. India won the match by 123 runs.
Amit Mishra
The leg-spinner was recalled to the team in 2015 after a four-year gap. He is 32, but fit enough to run through any batting order. Mishra proved his worth in Sri Lanka supporting Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. He took five wickets in the first Test, followed by seven wickets at P Sara Oval and three at the SSC.
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