Ravindra Jadeja has spoken about the difficulties he encountered during the initial phase of his Test cricket career. The all-rounder admitted that being placed low in the batting order, sometimes at number eight or nine, affected his confidence and led him to question the team’s faith in his batting abilities.
Jadeja’s reflections came ahead of the second day of India‘s opening Test match against Sri Lanka in Galle. He highlighted that despite a strong domestic record, including a Ranji Trophy batting average exceeding 60, his confidence was impacted by his batting position in international matches.
Early career struggles
The left-handed batter mentioned that in his domestic first-class career, encompassing the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy, his batting average was above 60. This record instilled a belief in his batting capabilities. However, upon joining the Indian team, he often found himself batting at lower positions, which he described as a challenging experience.
Jadeja recalled instances where he batted at number eight and nine, sometimes even after Ravichandran Ashwin. He described how seeing fast bowlers preparing to bat while he was padded up contributed to his morale and confidence declining. He expressed thoughts such as, “Oh man, what is this? The team doesn’t even have confidence in me.”
During his career, Jadeja has batted at number eight in 32 Test innings, averaging 34.22. He has also batted at number nine on 12 occasions, where his average rises to over 40. Despite these statistics, he conveyed that he did not feel comfortable in these positions, often feeling that the team expected to be bowled out quickly.
At number eight, Jadeja has accumulated 924 runs, and at number nine, he has scored over 200 runs. He noted that he remained unbeaten in several instances due to running out of partners. His stints under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma included occasions where he batted as low as number eight or nine.
Current form and team performance
In recent times, Jadeja has become a reliable batter in Test cricket. Last year, he scored more than 500 runs in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, demonstrating the team management’s increased trust in his batting skills. He is one of the few batters to have achieved a triple century in India‘s premier red-ball domestic competition.
The all-rounder’s candid comments were made as India had a strong start to their Test against Sri Lanka. On the first day, which was affected by rain, India finished at 288/2. Devdutt Padikkal scored his maiden Test century, remaining unbeaten on 131. KL Rahul contributed 77 runs, and Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on 27 at stumps.
Despite the early challenges, Jadeja has established himself as a prominent all-rounder for India. His contributions include consistent lower-order runs, left-arm spin bowling, and fielding. Across 89 Tests for India, he has scored 4,095 runs at an average of 38.27 and taken 348 wickets at an average of 25.11.
Overall, Jadeja has accumulated 7,515 international runs at an average of 34 and claimed 634 wickets at an average of 29.70.
His reflections on his early career challenges were shared during a conversation with Sanjay Manjrekar on the Sony Sports Network.
The Test match against Sri Lanka is currently underway in Galle.
Source: hindustantimes.com
