Ravindra Jadeja is undoubtedly, one of the best fielders in global cricket right now. He is all set to feature in England after a long tiring break from red-ball cricket from 2018. His journey from being out of the squads and being included in the prestigious WTC Finals is an absolute game-changer. Filled with sleepless nights jadeja reveals dull phase of his career
In a recent interview he has expressed, how low he used to when he was not selected for the national team and said – “Honestly, those one-and-a-half years were filled with sleepless nights. Through that phase, I remember I would be up till 4-5 am. I would be thinking about what to do, how am I going to bounce back? I couldn’t sleep. I would be lying down. I was in the Test squad but not playing as we played a lot overseas. I wasn’t playing ODIs. I wasn’t playing domestic too as I would be traveling with the Indian team though not playing. I wasn’t getting any opportunity to prove myself. I would keep thinking about how I am going to come back.”
When asked about the 86 run knock in the Oval Test, he said – “That Test changed everything for me. My performance, my confidence, everything. When you score in English conditions against the best bowling attack, it greatly impacts your confidence. It makes you feel your technique is good enough to score anywhere in the world. Later, Hardik Pandya got injured and I made my ODI comeback. From then on, my game has been going well, touchwood.”
In his career, he had countless games with game-changing runouts, splendid catches, and some sword hittings. Jadeja saw that expectation is the distinction between ‘easy’ catches for him and ‘blinders’ for different fielders. He added that his abilities are only a mix of experience and sharpness.
“I know my anticipation is very good in a match situation. I don’t know what others think about before the ball comes, but personally, after playing so many years, I know what the release shot of different batsmen is. And I can tell from how he is playing, where the ball is going to go. I have that extra fraction of a second and I move there quickly. So, at times, you will see me getting into positions and take ‘easy’ catches, but I know if it were someone else, it would have been a blinder as he hasn’t moved across quickly in anticipation” – he said.
“It does feel good when I am appreciated for my fielding, they might not see my hard work, but they know it. When I drop catches also, people don’t criticize, it’s more like, ‘hota hai, it happens” – he added.
Ravindra Jadeja will be back in action for the prestigious World Test Championship finale against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18.
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