3 times Ravindra Jadeja made a remarkable comeback in international cricket
Ravindra Jadeja made his much-awaited return to international cricket earlier today in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against Australia. Playing in the first Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jadeja took five wickets to help India skittle out the Aussies for just 177 runs.
Jadeja suffered an ankle injury while performing an adventure activity during the Asia Cup 2022 in UAE.
He missed the remaining matches in 2022 as well as India's home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 2023. After proving his fitness in the Ranji Trophy for Saurashtra, Jadeja received a place in the Test squad for the series against Australia.
Well… I guess Sir Jadeja is back! #INDvAUS
The all-rounder has made an instant impact upon his return to international cricket. Fans should note that this is not the first time Ravindra Jadeja has made an excellent comeback after being dropped or injured.
Here's a list of the three previous instances when Jadeja made a remarkable comeback.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja's all-round brilliance against England in 2011
Ravindra Jadeja made his ODI debut in 2009. He played 35 ODIs for India before the 2011 World Cup but failed to make the cut to the squad for the mega event. Jadeja made his return to the ODI squad in the away series against England later in 2011.
He was picked in the playing XI for the third ODI, and the all-rounder proved himself to be a game-changer by scoring 78 runs. India were down to 58/5 in that match, but half-centuries from Jadeja and MS Dhoni helped the team finish with 234/7 in their 50 overs.
Jadeja also bowled an impressive spell of 2/42 in the second innings, but England won the match by three wickets via the D/L method.
#2 Ravindra Jadeja returns to Test cricket after more than 1 year
Jadeja played his career's first Test in 2012. By 2014, he had played 12 Tests for India. He lost his place in the playing XI after an uneventful series against England in 2014. India did not pick him in the playing XI for the first two Tests of the subsequent series against Australia. Soon after, he suffered a shoulder injury.
Jadeja did not feature in the Tests against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as well in 2015. He made his comeback to the team for the home series against South Africa in 2015 and picked up a total of eight wickets in the first Test. His brilliant bowling helped India win by 108 runs.
#3 Jadeja's career-best performance upon Test cricket return in 2022
Jadeja suffered a knee injury in late 2021, which ruled him out of the second Test of the series against New Zealand. He also missed the away series against South Africa due to the injury.
The all-rounder returned to the Indian team's playing XI for the Test against Sri Lanka in 2022 at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium. He played his career's best innings of 175 runs to help India win by an innings and 222 runs.