The confusion surrounding the fitness of Ravindra Jadeja was cleared by the Board of Control for the Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday.
"Jadeja complained of a left shoulder discomfort after prolonged bowling spells during the 2018, West Indies ODI series. He underwent a guided injection in Mumbai for this on 2nd November.
"This gave Mr Jadeja good relief of his symptoms and he played in the Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra from 12 to 15 November in which he completed 64 overs without any issues. He was thereby declared fit by the BCCI and selected for the Test series against Australia," the Indian cricket board said in a media release.
Earlier, India head coach Ravi Shastri had claimed that Jadeja had been suffering from stiff shoulder from the time he was playing Ranji Trophy and was given injections four days after landing in Australia.
The spinner was nonetheless included in the 13-man squad for the second Test in Perth and fielded for a major part of the two Australian innings, thus posings questions about Indian team's injury management programme.
But Shastri's claim was refuted by Saurashtra coach Sitanshu Kotak, who told The Indian Express that Jadeja “There was no fitness issue at all when he (Jadeja) was playing for Saurashtra. Neither there was any stiffness which you are talking about. Had there been any stiffness or any injury he would have not played Ranji Trophy, or at least he would have told us."
“He joined the team and had two days nets session before our Ranji Trophy game (against Railways) started. He batted and took part in fielding drills. He was present for four days at the ground. His scores will speak for himself, in two innings he bowled. He batted well for us and scored a hundred too.
“If he was feeling any pain or stiffness, do you think he would have bowled so many overs? He was perfectly fit when he was with us. I don’t know what happened once he left Saurashtra team. He came to the Ranji Trophy game perfectly fit,” Kotak added.
The Indian cricket board, in its part, said that "after Jadeja flew to Australia, he then complained of a recurrence of his symptoms on 30th November during the match against the CA XI in Sydney. He was given another injection into a slightly different site on that day. This injection along with his rehabilitation program improved his symptoms.
"In the lead up to the Perth Test match on 14th December, the management and the all-rounder were of the opinion that the intensity of his bowling in the nets could have been higher, to match the standards required for such an intensely fought series. For this reason, he was not considered for selection for the 2nd Test match."
"Mr. Jadeja’s left shoulder has continued to improve and he is now available for the 3rd Test match of the series in Melbourne."
The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is tied 1-1 after Australia won the second Test at Perth. India won the series opener in Adelaide. The third and all-important Boxing Day Test, which starts on Wednesday (December 26), will be played at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne.
