Revealed! MS Dhoni is the man behind Kedar Jadhav's renaissance

Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni spotted potential in him while Sunil Gavaskar calls him "street smart". Kedar Jadhav may lack the grace or flair of a top-notch cricketer, but he can be relied on to give his best. He realises his utility in the team is more of a bits and pieces player.

Against Pakistan on Wednesday, he had a bigger role to play after Hardik Pandya suffered a back injury that required him to be stretchered off. By then Pandya had bowled just five overs and skipper Rohit Sharma required another bowler to complete the quota. Jadhav was entrusted with that task and he did more than being just a "filler". He went on to register his best ODI figures of 3-23 to break the back of the Pakistan batting.

Unusual action
The Pakistani batsmen were taken aback by his unusual bowling style and were caught in a web. Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed acknowledged Jadhav's role and said: "We had prepared well for the two main bowlers (Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav), but fell to the third (Jadhav)".

It's quite interesting how Jadhav became a useful bowler to add to his prowess as a batsman. He made a mark for himself by scoring a century against Zimbabwe in his fourth ODI match in 2015. Dhoni then saw something unusual - that he could deliver off-spin with a sling-like action - a la Lasith Malinga. Dhoni thought that this could flummox batsmen and he was proved right when he tossed the ball to Jadhav in the home series against New Zealand in 2016. Jadhav troubled the Kiwi batsmen right through the series and bagged six wickets to garner wholesome praise.

"It was in Dharamsala where Dhoni asked me to bowl in the New Zealand series. From then, my life has changed completely," Jadhav recalled after India defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the Asia Cup match here on Wednesday.

Since that day, Jadhav's role in the team has been of an all-rounder sharing the role of the fifth bower with Pandya. This allows India to stick with the combination of four frontline bowlers, and Pandya with Jadhav chipping in to complete the remaining overs.

Despite his ability and utility, Jadhav has not been able to cement his place in Team India due to recurring injuries. "In the last six months, I've been injured more than three times on my left hamstring. In the last IPL, I got injured again, so we decided to go for surgery. Surgery has definitely helped my fitness. Now, I don't have it in my mind that I will get injured again. In the last four months, I've learnt a lot about training and fitness and it has definitely made me a better cricketer.

Fitter and better
"Previously, whenever I returned to play after rehab, I used to feel fit and thought it [injury] won't come again. Thus, many times I would skip my routine. But after the third time [I got injured], regardless of how I feel, every day, I start with training... in the gym and running. So, that gives me the confidence that I'm getting stronger and fitter by the day and that helps me on the field."

In 42 ODIs, Jadhav has bowled his 10 overs only once. The nine overs he bowled on Wednesday were the second-most. There will be times when the captain won't be required to turn to him. But whenever he does, Jadhav's unusual low-arm bowling action with a bent front knee will be a big challenge to tackle.

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