He can be in contention in the upcoming home series.
Few batters in the domestic arena have been as impressive as Narayan Jagadeesan in recent times. The batter has consistently been among the runs and also keeps wickets, which makes him an all-round player with high skills.
In the Ranji Trophy 2024/25, he was Tamil Nadu’s leading run-scorer, with 674 runs at an average of 56.16 in 13 innings, including five fifties and two centuries. In the previous two Ranji Trophy editions, Jagadeesan has been the second-leading run-accumulator, scoring 1490 runs at a fabulous average of 64.78 in 26 outings, with only Karun Nair ahead, mostly because he played more innings (33).
He continued his form in the Duleep Trophy 2025 semifinal against North Zone and scored a magnificent 197 in the first innings before scoring an unbeaten 52 in the next. His terrific knock in the initial dig helped South Zone gain a first-innings lead, taking them to the final, and Jagadeesan won the Player of the Match award.
ALSO READ:
If there was still any doubt in the quality of the batter, the 29-year-old stamped his authority with a fine 64 against Australia A in Lucknow. The opponent had a few solid bowlers, but Jagadeesan’s recent form has been too good to stop him, and, in fact, he would be disappointed not to convert it into another big score.
Amidst all the progress he has made, Narayan Jagadeesan has already been in the plans for India’s Test team. He replaced Rishabh Pant in the squad for the fifth Test after a foot injury ruled him out, even though Dhruv Jurel got the nod ahead to play the game.
Still, he is clearly high in the pecking order, and he can be in contention in the upcoming home series against the West Indies, where Pant will reportedly be unavailable as he continues to recover. Jurel might have lately been the second wicketkeeper-batter, but Jagadeesan’s form is too tempting to ignore.
If Pant doesn’t play, Jagadeesan will surely make it to the squad, and performances for India A will decide whether the management hands him a Test debut. To his credit, the Tamil Nadu batter has pounced on every opportunity and ensured to score runs so that when the chance arrives, selectors don’t have any doubt.
Even if Jurel plays as a specialist wicketkeeper-batter, India still have a No.3 spot vacant, and Jagadeesan is naturally a top-order batter with vast experience facing the new ball. Plenty of names are vying for that spot, but he is assembling a non-negotiable currency – runs – that topples all other metrics, at least in the longest format.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
