'It was not on my mind' - Ravindra Jadeja moves on from IPL controversy

India’s quest for a historic series win in England gained momentum on Day 2 of the ongoing rescheduled fifth Test. The Three Lions were five wickets down with just 84 runs on the board at stumps, trailing by 332 runs. Before the Indian bowlers bamboozled the English batters, a herculean effort was on display from all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who registered his maiden overseas century. The southpaw spoke about his troubles and controversies in the IPL after the end of the day’s play.

To note, Jadeja was an integral part of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings and was designated to lead the team in the 2022 campaign after MS Dhoni stepped down from the role. But the southpaw was not up to the task as CSK endured a horrendous start to their campaign and even his personal form dipped. Ultimately, he vacated the captaincy role, and Dhoni once again took charge of the four-time champions. To make matters worse, he suffered an injury that ruled him out of the latter stages of the IPL 2022. Rumours of rift between Jadeja and CSK management also became a talk of the town.

However, the all-rounder has made peace with the episode. Jadeja has certainly come leaps and bounds in the last few years, and his much-improved batting has been an asset to the Indian side. After registering his third Test ton and first on foreign soil, the left-arm spinner spoke about his misfortunes in the IPL.

“What happened, happened. IPL was not on my mind. Whenever you are playing for India, your entire focus needs to be on the Indian team. It was the same for me, there is no better satisfaction that performing well for India. I can really take some confidence in myself as a player from this, to score a 100 in England especially in swinging conditions, so yeah it feels really good,” Jadeja spoke to the press.

Ravindra Jadeja praised tailenders for their contributions with the bat

The southpaw further praised the efforts of the lower-order batters, who often don’t get much credit for their batting skills. India added 78 runs to their overnight tally of 338, and Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were the major contributors with the bat on the morning of the second day. The southpaw highlighted that runs from the lower-order batters are a bonus for the team.

“Our 9, 10, and 11 do plenty of batting practice. Our team management ensures they work on their batting at practice. It is a nice feeling when the 9, 10 and 11 score the runs because it is a bonus for the team. Whenever Bumrah bats in the nets he takes it seriously. It is not like when he bats, he has a casual approach, and he puts a price on his wicket. The last 40-50 runs he scored along with others is a bonus,” the all-rounder added.