‘Blessed to be Getting a Chance to Play for India Again’: Ravindra Jadeja on his Comeback After Injury Layoff

Ravindra Jadeja is set to be back in action in the upcoming India vs Australia Test series at home. The ace all-rounder returns to the Indian dressing room after a 5-month-long injury layoff. Last year, he hurt his knee during an Asia Cup 2022 fixture against Hong Kong. The injury ruled him out of the subsequent T20 World Cup 2022 as well.

Following a successful knee surgery, Jadeja underwent a rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) before heading back into the field. He proved his match fitness with a 7-wicket haul against Tamil Nadu in a Ranji Trophy fixture and currently gearing up for the first Test against Australia in Nagpur.

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Ahead of the series opener, Jadeja spoke at length about his comeback. In the video shared on bcci.tv, he said he was very blessed to get a chance again to play for the national team.

“I’m very excited. It feels really great that I am wearing an Indian jersey after more than five months. I’ve been very blessed that I am getting a chance to play for India again. The journey was a bit of up and down because you easily get frustrated when you are away from cricket for such a long time. I was eagerly awaiting to get fit and get to play for India,” said Jadeja in a video posted by the BCCI on their social media handles.

The rescheduled fifth Test against England at Birmingham in July 2022 was the last time Jadeja played a Test match. He then explained the decision to undergo the surgery on his right knee.

“Somewhere I was struggling with the knee and had to undergo surgery. But I had to take a decision on whether I had to do it before or after the (T20) World Cup.

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“The doctor had also advised me to do it before the World Cup because there was very less chance to play the World Cup even if I hadn’t gone under the knife. I then made up my mind to go for it, but the period after that was very tough as rehab and training there, you have to do it constantly,” the all-rounder further said.

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