Ravindra Jadeja Jamnagar Cricketer City News Samachar Gujarat India

There are many good memories connected with this ground.

Last year when the Madhavrao Scindia stadium in Rajkot City hosted an international Cricket game, Ravindra Jadeja was in the stands, cheering along with the chorus that greeted Yuvraj Singh’s 78-ball 138 against England. A Team India hopeful at that time, the left-handed Jadeja tried to emulate the southpaw at nets the following morning, but decided to switch back to his own style once he saw he couldn’t make much headway. And sticking to his strengths has seen Jadeja move from the stands to the field within a year’s time as international cricket returns to his hometown.

Though he hails from Jamnagar, Rajkot was the witness to the high points in the 21-year-old’s early cricket career. “There are several memories connected to this ground and now I have the opportunity to add one more. This will be really special as so many of my friends and family will be watching,” Jadeja told The Indian Express.

“We watched the India-England game sitting in the stands and I never thought the next time when India travel here, I would be on the other side. From watching Yuvraj and trying to be like him, here I am sharing a dressing room with him and the other big names of Indian cricket.”

Long wait

The locals are also excited and it is understandable. The last player from the region to represent the country was Karsan Ghavri, the left-arm pacer who shared the new ball with Kapil Dev in the 70s. But Ghavri did not get the chance to play an international game at home.

Fresh from a few decent Ranji outings and a surprise call for the second T20 game as a late replacement for Sreesanth makes Jadeja confident of doing well in the opening one-dayer against Sri Lanka. But as he looks back, a few unfortunate episodes from the one-day series against Australia come to his mind.

Jadeja said he needed to make amends for the run out during the Hyderabad match, where India’s late-order batsmen faltered after Sachin Tendulkar’s 175 had put the team on the brink of a historic win. “I need to be more consistent so I can cement my place in the Indian team. I need to contribute more, and I’m trying my best. I know that if I had not been run out, we would have won in Hyderabad,” Jadeja said.