Ravindra Jadeja’s emotional statement on being overlooked for India captaincy goes viral

Ravindra Jadeja was one of the heroes in India’s dominant first-innings performance in the ongoing first Test against England at Edgbaston. Ravindra Jadeja has yet again proved his worth with a gritty and stylish 89 off 137 balls, playing a key role in India posting 587 runs on the board on Day 2 of the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston.

However, after the end of Day 2’s play, the star all-rounder’s words created just as much buzz as his knock. Well, Jadeja may still be one of India’s biggest match-winners in Test cricket, but when it came to picking the next leader after Rohit Sharma’s exit, the selectors overlooked him.

Ravindra Jadeja breaks silence on missing India's captaincy

Despite his 15 years’ experience, brilliance, and long-standing service to Indian cricket, Jadeja has been overlooked for leadership roles as the national selectors handed the captaincy to young Shubman Gill and the vice-captaincy to Rishabh Pant after Rohit and Virat Kohli’s retirement.

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And now, after playing a crucial knock against England at Edgbaston, the veteran all-rounder has finally spoken up about his captaincy desires at the press conference. Jadeja didn’t seem bitter but hinted at a silent acceptance when asked about whether captaincy ambition crossed his mind during his career. Flashing a smile, he said, “No, that time is gone now.”

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja built a solid 203-run partnership with Shubman Gill to take India to a commanding position in the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston. The experienced all-rounder looked set for a big one before his innings was ended by Josh Tongue.

Ravindra Jadeja steps up with the bat to anchor India’s innings

Jadeja tried to pull a fiery short ball from Josh Tongue, but he was caught off guard by the extra pace and bounce. The ball brushed his glove and flew straight into the hands of wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, bringing his gritty knock to an end on Day 2 of the ongoing Edgbaston Test.

But Gill found another reliable partner in Washington Sundar. The duo stitched together a 144-run stand, frustrating England’s bowlers on Day 2. Eventually, Joe Root broke the partnership by bowling Sundar out for 42 off 103 balls. Later, Gill fell after scoring a magnificent 269.

Read Also: Watch: Rishabh Pant takes stunner to dismiss Joe Root as Mohammed Siraj rocks England with consecutive strikes

The Indian captain’s knock powered the tourists to a huge total of 587, putting England under massive pressure early in the match after losing the first Test to the hosts by five wickets at Headingley. Speaking about his partnership with Gill, Jadeja has only praise for the young leader.

Ravindra Jadeja hails Shubman Gill’s calm under captaincy pressure

The star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja praised Gill for his calm and confident batting, saying that the extra responsibility of captaincy hasn’t affected him at all. During their stand, they focused on building a strong partnership and kept encouraging each other at Edgbaston.

Jadeja said as the press conference at the end of Day 2, “Honestly, Gill looks very confident. He does not look like a captain in batting. He has been given an extra responsibility. He is carrying everything with him.

"I do not feel anything like that in his batting. Even today, unluckily, the ball went in his (fielder's) hand. But today, I did not feel that he would be out in this inning. He played very well. When we were batting together, we were talking about partnership. That we will have a long partnership, and we will keep talking to each other.”