Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has built his image as one of the most important players of the current Indian team. From the past few years, Jadeja has grown his game and has performed exceptionally well across all formats.
Now one can’t imagine the combination of Team India without the presence of Jadeja; however, that wasn’t the case a few years back as he was struggling to cement his place in the playing XI. In a chat with The Indian Express, Jadeja recalled those times when he ‘couldn’t sleep’ and had many ‘sleepless nights’.
“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, but jaaga hi rehta tha (was awake only),” said Jadeja.
Jadeja was referring to the time when India played a lot of Tests on foreign soil, but he wasn’t getting any opportunity to prove his mettle.
“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 travelling 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,” added the Jamnagar-lad.
However, Jadeja finally got a chance during India’s tour of England in 2018 and the world-class all-rounder cashed in the opportunity with both hands, playing a crucial knock of 86 runs when the chips were down.
The 32-year-old reckoned that innings gave him supreme confidence and changed everything for him.
“That Test changed everything for me. Poora (complete) game. 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,” Jadeja added further.