Ravindra Jadeja She is now a truly reliable force when it comes to batting in Test cricket. The left-handed batsman scored over 500 runs in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England last year and the team management showed great faith in the Saurashtra all-rounder. However, there was a time when the veteran was batting at Nos. 8 and 9, and he has now admitted that his confidence was shaken after he was asked to move out so low in the order.
On the sidelines of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Jadeja admitted that he had doubts about himself in his first few days, saying his confidence was shaken when he walked out to bat after Ravichandran Ashwin on some occasions.
The 37-year-old has a strong record with both bat and ball in the Ranji Trophy, and is one of the few batsmen to also hit a triple century in India’s premier domestic red-ball competition. However, Jadeja said that self-doubt is common when players enter international cricket, and this can happen when one does not get the desired batting position.
“If you look at my entire Ranji Trophy career, my average is over 60. Whatever first-class cricket I have played in Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy domestically, my batting average is over 60. So somewhere, I had a belief that I had that ability. But sometimes what happens is you get into the Indian team and you don’t get that batting number,” Jadeja said in a chat with Sanjay Manjrekar on Sony Sports Network.
“And sometimes the situation is that I have batted at numbers 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 picking the ball. So, seeing all these things, my morale and confidence will go down,” he added.
“Oh man”
Talking about Jadeja, there were 32 innings in Tests where he reached the eighth position, while he got out at the ninth position on 12 occasions. In eighth place, his average is 34.22, while in the next number his average rises significantly to just over 40.
However, despite these amazing numbers, Jadeja said he did not feel very good in these positions, with the team often expecting to be out soon. At number eight, Jadeja has scored 924 runs, while the left-hander has over 200 runs at number nine. It is worth noting that Jadeja remained unbeaten on several occasions, as he ran out of partners at the other end.
Over the years, Jadeja has played under MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma, and during these three spells, the left-hander reached the eighth or ninth position on some occasions.
“Sometimes you think to yourself, ‘I’ve got to go and score runs.’ And in the same dressing room, a fast bowler picks the ball, and thinks, ‘Come on, bowling is coming now.’ So, because of all those things, my self-confidence literally took a hit. I was thinking: ‘Man, what is this?’ “The team doesn’t even trust me,” Jadeja said.
