Star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has revealed that during his initial days with the Test team, he was low on confidence and felt that the team didn’t trust him because he had to bat in the lower
middle order, below what he was used to in domestic cricket.
Jadeja boasts a brilliant record with both bat and ball in the Ranji Trophy and is among the few batters to have scored a triple hundred in India’s premier red-ball domestic competition.
But Jadeja said that it’s natural for players to experience self-doubt when they make the transition to international cricket and when they don’t get their preferred batting position.
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Ravindra Jadeja chats with Sanjay Manjrekar about the art of making it count for #TeamIndia.
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“If you look at my entire Ranji Trophy career, my average is more than 60. Whatever Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy first-class cricket I have played domestically, my batting average is more than 60,” Jadeja said while speaking to the host broadcasters.
“So somewhere, I had that belief that I had that ability. But sometimes what happens is that you come into the Indian team and you don’t get that batting number,” Jadeja added.
The star Indian allrounder said that there were times when he batted at No. 8 or 9, which affected his confidence. Sitting in the dressing room with his pads on while a pacer was selecting a ball beside him would make him question himself, causing his morale and confidence to dip.
Speaking of Jadeja, he has batted at No. 8 in 32 Test innings and at No. 9 on 12 occasions. While he averages 34.22 at No. 8, his average rises to just over 40 when batting one position lower.
