IPL 2024

‘I’ve told Mahi bhai this…’ – Ravindra Jadeja reveals the influence of two ‘Mahendras’ in his career

In recent years, Ravindra Jadeja has distinguished himself as one of India’s top all-rounders across all formats. Jadeja’s fielding and batting abilities have elevated him to a prominent position in India’s starting eleven, although he remains one of the world’s most effective spinners in all formats.

The same is true for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the team for which Jadeja is now playing in the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Given his disastrous captaincy last season and how the position was reverted to CSK’s illustrious captain MS Dhoni, there was much curiosity over whether Jadeja would remain with the team this season. Jadeja also began his India career under Dhoni. Reports claim that lengthy conversations with him before the start of the season gave Jadeja the confidence to play for the four-time winners once again.

My cricket journey has been between the two ‘Mahendras’ – Ravindra Jadeja

According to Jadeja, Dhoni wasn’t the first “Mahendra” or “MS” in his career as a cricket player. The Jamnagar-based cricket coach Mahendra Singh Chauhan was Jadeja’s early role model. “I have told Mahi bhai this as well that, meri cricket ki journey Mahendra Singh Chouhan aur Mahendra Singh Dhoni ke beech me hi rahi hai. That is where my cricket journey started. I started in 1996 when I was eight years old in Jamnagar. Even now, I sometimes go to that ground to meet sir. Practice cannot happen because there are about 300 to 400 kids there, so it can become a big crowd,” said Jadeja on Star Sports.

Jadeja claimed that Chauhan had asked him to give up his initial desire to become a fast bowler, despite lacking the necessary physical characteristics. “When I started out, I wanted to become a fast bowler. I used to think seeing fast bowlers sending in bouncers that I would also be able to do that, but I never had the speed. My coach Mahendra Singh Chouhan, he told me that you are not tall enough or not fast enough, so please don’t be under any illusions. At the time, I thought, yes, I don’t have the height that is required. Then I started bowling left-arm spin,” he said.

“At the time, we were not able to bat too much because the turf wicket was not good. On the other hand, when the ball hits a rough and turns a lot, your interest to do that again increases. If you see that you are getting the batter out with a big spin, your interest in spin bowling increases, so I started getting more interested in it. It was up to us to make and maintain the wicket, and the batter himself had to roll the wickets and stuff. So I thought, I don’t want to do all that, I will just stand there with the ball in hand, and when the wicket is ready, I will bowl,” said Jadeja.