Ravindra Jadeja, the experienced Indian all-rounder, marked his comeback with a stellar performance in India’s emphatic victory over Australia in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Jadeja had been sidelined for a long time due to an injury, but he ensured that his comeback was unforgettable as he bagged the Player of the Match award in Nagpur.
However, there was a phase in his career when the 34-year-old faced a lot of criticism on social media for his lacklustre performances. Back in 2013, Jadeja responded to one of the critics on Twitter. “Don’t even try and judge me, dude. You have no idea what the f*** I’ve been through,” Jadeja had tweeted.
Looking back at that, he shared how he dealt with that situation. “On days when I haven’t done well, they start trolling, calling me names. They say things without knowing the kind of hard work I have done to reach this stage. Small, small things … there are so many struggles and sacrifices that I don’t even remember them now,” Jadeja told Hindustan Times.
“Those idlers sitting in front of a computer have nothing to do, they sit and make memes and write anything that comes to their mind,” the left-hander said.
“People should call me by my name. That is enough. I hate being called Sir. If you wish, call me Bapu, that’s what I like. This Sir-Var, I don’t like at all. Actually, it just doesn’t register when people call me Sir,” Jadeja had said to The Indian Express few years ago.
Jadeja shone with both bat and ball in the first Test against Australia. In the first innings of the match, he took five wickets and then scored 70 runs off 185 balls. The Australian batsmen seemed clueless against Jadeja’s bowling.
The Indian team will once again expect that the Saurashtra cricketer will deliver in the second Test against Australia, which will start on February 24 in Kolkata. Jadeja has been a vital cog in India’s Test team, especially at home, where he has excelled with his spin bowling and lower-order batting. He has also been a brilliant fielder and a livewire on the field. He has truly overcome his past struggles and proved his critics wrong. He is one of the finest all-rounders in world cricket today.
