Here’s Why Ravindra Jadeja Was Away From Cricket For More Than 2 Months

On Thursday in Lucknow versus Sri Lanka, star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja marked his return to the national eleven after a gap of almost three months. His last game came in November – a Test match in Kanpur against New Zealand.

Jadeja was ruled out from the second Test against the Kiwis in Mumbai due to a right forearm injury. He had been advised to rest then. However, as it turned out, the injury was severe and that forced him to miss the Test and ODI series in South Africa. India dearly missed the services of their best all-rounder in South Africa as they went down 2-1 in the Test series and were whitewashed 3-0 in ODIs.

He also missed the start of the home season – the T20I and ODI series against the West Indies – as he continued his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

He returned to the squad and was drafted in the eleven straight away in the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Lucknow. Ravindra Jadeja scored 3 runs off 4 balls, and picked 1 wicket for 28 runs in his 4-over spell.

“Good to be back in the Indian team and really looking forward to play the T20 series and the Test series. It feels great to be back and excited that after 2-2.5 months I am getting a chance to play for India,” Jadeja had said in a video tweeted by the BCCI a day before the game.

Explaining his lengthy process of recovery, the left-hander said: “I was very keen to do my rehab properly and also I was working hard on my fitness at NCA. So I am really excited about the upcoming series. I have been practising in Bangalore, [working on] bowling and batting and I was in touch. Today, I felt very good after coming here and doing my first session. So, yeah, it’s been amazing.”

? ? “I’m excited to be back and raring to go.”
Say Hello to all-rounder @imjadeja and vice-captain @Jaspritbumrah93 as they join #TeamIndia for the Sri Lanka series. ? ?@Paytm | #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/gpWG3UESjv
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 23, 2022