Ravindra Jadeja has candidly spoken about the challenges he faced at the outset of his international cricket career, revealing that his consistent placement lower down the batting order significantly impacted his self-assurance. This positional constraint often led him to question the team’s belief in his capabilities as a batsman. His introspection comes as India demonstrates commanding form following a dominant Day 1 performance against Sri Lanka. Jadeja elaborated on his development as a Test batsman, detailing how he cultivated the mental resilience required to construct lengthy innings.
He emphasized his impressive domestic record, where he consistently batted at number four. “When I started, I used to bat at number 4. If you look at my entire Ranji Trophy career, my average is more than 60. Whatever Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy first-class cricket I have played domestically, my batting average is more than 60. So somewhere, I had that belief that I had that ability. But sometimes what happens is that you come into the Indian team and you don’t get that batting number,” Jadeja explained during a conversation with broadcasters before the start of day two’s play, which encountered a delay due to inclement weather.
The accomplished all-rounder confessed that frequently being slotted at number eight or nine, and occasionally even below Ravichandran Ashwin, eroded his confidence during his initial years on the international stage. “Sometimes the situation is such that I have batted at number 8 and 9 as well. So, when you are sitting in the dressing room with your pads on, next to you, a fast bowler is selecting a ball. Seeing all those things, my morale and confidence would go down. Sometimes you think to yourself, ‘I have to go and score runs,'” he further added.
Jadeja elaborated on how witnessing bowlers preparing to bat ahead of him instilled a feeling that the team lacked full faith in his batting prowess. “And in that same dressing room, a fast bowler is selecting the ball, thinking, ‘Come on, now bowling is coming.’ So because of all those things, my confidence was literally disturbed. I would think, ‘Oh man, what is this? The team doesn’t even have confidence in me?’ So I have seen that in my early days, that I didn’t get that number. Very low, many times I even went in to bat below Ashwin. So somewhere, all those things disturbed me,” Jadeja disclosed. These candid reflections emerged after India showcased a formidable batting display on the inaugural day of the Test match against Sri Lanka. India concluded Day 1 at a robust 288 for 2, establishing a strong foothold in the match despite the rain-affected proceedings. Devdutt Padikkal was the standout performer, achieving a magnificent unbeaten 131, marking his maiden Test century. KL Rahul also contributed a crucial knock of 77, while Rishabh Pant remained unconquered on 27 as play concluded. All the latest sports news can be found on Daily Samchar.
