'Expecting a bigger role from him, time is running out' - Former opener fires ODI World Cup warning for Ravindra Jadeja

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has urged better performances from Ravindra Jadeja in the second and third ODIs of the ongoing series against New Zealand. Jadeja had an all-round lackluster outing in Vadodara on January 11.

Chopra believed the matches in Rajkot (January 14) and Indore (January 18) will be crucial in deciding Jadeja's future with an eye on the 2027 World Cup. The renowned commentator felt Axar Patel could pip Jadeja for the spin-bowling all-rounder slot if the latter fails to deliver in the upcoming matches.

"I am expecting a bigger role from Jadeja because I think the time is running out on him. At the moment, you are still searching for balance as the T20 World Cup is approaching and you are managing Axar's workload. However, once the World Cup is over, you are not going to think like that. When you go to England, it might be Axar all the way because after that, the preparation will be only for the ODI World Cup. These two games are very important for Ravindra Jadeja," shared Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.

Speaking on New Zealand's performance in the first ODI, Chopra could not help but agree with Ravichandran Ashwin's take regarding the Kiwis pushing India right till the end. Chopra spoke on that despite the massive gap in experience, New Zealand managed to give India a tough fight.

"New Zealand pushed India in the last match. I feel it would have hurt the self-respect a little as well. Look at this team's total experience. This entire team has fewer runs than what Rohit Sharma has scored in ODIs. The total bowling experience is 50 matches. They have half the wickets of Kuldeep Yadav in ODIs. They pushed you till the end. There were very few names you knew, and all of them did well. Ashwin said that one can assume they won the series even if they win one match. They came very close, and I agree with him," he added.

Coming to Jadeja's recent international performances, he has been able to pick up only one wicket in the last four ODIs for India. Jadeja has also been a touch expensive during these outings. His performance with the bat after being promoted to No. 5 in the series-opening clash against New Zealand was an underwhelming one as he could only score four off five.