New Delhi: Beleaguered Gujarat Lions (GL) are finally up for a smile as their star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is all set to make a comeback from his injury in their very next Indian Premier League (IPL) game against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS). The Saurashtrian had missed the initial two matches owing to a finger injury he had incurred during the Border-Gavaskar series that concluded with the end of March, 2017.
While the Lions were struggling in their second IPL match this season, against the defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad at Hyderabad, their head coach Brad Hodge was called upon for a sideline inerview.
On being asked about Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, he said, "I'm not sure about Bravo but Jadeja comes back for us in the next game." Bravo, the other all-rounder on the injury list, will be out for sometime due to his hamstring injury.
In an interview to PTI, the former Aussie cricketer had earlier mentioned, "He (Jadeja) can't be replaced..He is a three-dimensional player...He bats, bowls and fields like a jet. So its very hard to replace him in any cricketing side."
A few days earlier, skipper Suresh Raina expressed regret over the absence of the two players, after the team suffered a humiliating defeat in their opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at Rajkot on April 7.
"I think 180 still was a good total. We did not bowl well in the first six overs. The bowling was not experienced and it is a learning curve," Raina said. "We missed the experience of Jadeja and Bravo. Jadeja has done really well in T20 format. When you are not bowling well upfront, you need experience, someone like Bravo in the middle."
So the 28-year-old's return to the team is likely to inspire the Lions as they would surely be hoping to grab their first win in the next match where they will face the Rising Pune Supergiant at Rajkot on April 14.
