Happy Birthday Ravindra Jadeja: A Cricketing Icon with a Down-to-Earth Charm
Happy Birthday Ravindra Jadeja: Celebrate the cricketing brilliance of Jadeja on his 35th birthday. Explore his love story, career highlights, and why he prefers not to be called 'Sir'.
Ravindra Jadeja is certainly a once-in-a-generation talent who can singlehandedly change the course of the game at any moment, be it with his mystic bowling, thunderous batting or dynamic fielding. The Indian all-rounder first emerged in the international circuit in 2009 during a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. He continued to feature in the limited-over formats for three more years before earning the opportunity to don the whites for India.
Since his Test debut against England, Jadeja has faced a lot of ups and downs during his career spanning over a decade. But the Southpaw has made the most out of every opportunity, gradually finding a place among the elite of Indian spin bowling.
related stories
WATCH: 6 Cricketers Born on December 6
Today, on December 6, Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his 35th birthday. On this special occasion, let’s take a look at some of the personal and professional aspects of his life:
The Love Story With Wife Rivaba Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja’s love story with his wife Rivaba is nothing short of a Bollywood movie. The couple met each other first at a social gathering, orchestrated by Jadeja’s sister Naina. It was no doubt love at first sight as the pair got engaged only three months after their initial encounter in 2016. Jadeja and Rivaba tied the knot in April of that year.
Jadeja’s Career Stats
Ravindra Jadeja is one of the few active Indian cricketers, who can equally perform across every format. He has so far represented India in 197 ODIs and 67 Tests, scoring 2756 and 2804 runs respectively. Jadeja has picked 275 wickets in the longest format while having 220 ODI wickets under his belt. The Gujarat-born cricketer has also featured in 64 T20Is and has fetched 51 wickets in the format.
Jadeja has also replicated his success in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He made his debut for Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition and became the champion. Jadeja was roped in by Chennai Super Kings at the 2012 auction and went on to become MS Dhoni’s go-to man with time. As a part of CSK, Jadeja has lifted three more IPL titles in 2018, 2021 and 2023. Jadeja has featured in 226 IPL matches thus far. He has aggregated 2692 runs with the bat while picking 152 wickets.
Why Jadeja Doesn’t Love Being Called “Sir"?
Impressed by his grit and determination, CSK captain MS Dhoni once branded Ravindra Jadeja as “sir" after an IPL match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. CSK needed 2 runs in the last ball to win the match, with Jadeja being on strike. The all-rounder got out in the delivery, which was later adjudged a no-ball. Referring to the turnaround of fortunes, Dhoni tweeted, “If you give Sir Jadeja 2 runs to score from 1 ball he will win it with the ball left."
When you give Sir Ravindra Jadeja one ball to get 2 runs he will win it with one ball to spare !!— Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni) April 13, 2013
Ten years have passed since the incident but Indian fans still continue to call Jadeja “sir." But the cricketer is not quite fond of the nickname. After making a remarkable comeback in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Jadeja revealed why he did not like being called “sir."
According to the Indian all-rounder, people in his hometown Jamnagar lovingly call him “Bapu" and he is happy with that moniker. “People should call me by my name. I hate being called sir. If someone wants to call me anything, they can refer to me as ‘Bapu’. This Sir-Var I do not like at all," Jadeja said.
Indian All-rounder’s Records
- Ravindra Jadeja is the only Indian player to notch three triple-centuries in first-class cricket.
- Jadeja is the only man in history to record 1,000 runs, pick 50 wickets and take 50 catches in ODIs.
- He also holds the record for claiming 9 or more wickets and registering over 150 runs in a single Test match. He achieved the feat in a game against Sri Lanka last year in Mohali.
- Jadeja’s 175-run knock in the Mohali Test is also the best Test innings by an Indian player batting at No. 7. The previous record was owned by former captain Kapil Dev, who smashed 163 runs against Sri Lanka in 1996.
- After Kapil Dev, Jadeja is only the second Indian cricketer to aggregate over 2000 runs and fetch more than 150 wickets in both Tests and ODIs.
- Location :
- First Published: