Picture: Ravindra Jadeja completes 14 years in international cricket
India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja completed 14 years in international cricket on Wednesday, February 8. The southpaw took to Twitter to celebrate the occasion ahead of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur, which starts on Thursday, February 9.
Sharing a picture on Twitter, Jadeja wrote:
“Just 14 yrs old today.”
Just 14 yrs old today. #internationaldebut #8feb2009 https://t.co/aav77hERDF
Jadeja made his Team India debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka on February 8, 2009. Within three years, he became a three-format player. The 34-year-old has already scalped 482 wickets for Team India across formats.
“Feels good that after more than 5 months, I am in the India jersey” – Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja is making his international comeback after a gap of five months. He sustained a knee injury during the 2022 Asia Cup. It kept him out of the 2022 T20 World Cup and bilateral series against New Zealand (home and away) and Sri Lanka (at home).
He is excited to once again play for Team India after completing rehabilitation following his knee surgery.
st #INDvAUS Test 
Excitement of comeback 👌
Story behind recovery 👍
Happiness to wear #TeamIndia jersey once again 😊
All-rounder @imjadeja shares it all as India gear up for the 1⃣st #INDvAUS Test 👏 👏 - By @RajalArora
FULL INTERVIEW 🎥 🔽
bit.ly/40tKX5a https://t.co/F2XtdSMpTv
Speaking recently to the BCCI, he said:
"I was eagerly waiting to make a comeback and play for India. I had been struggling with my knee for some time, so surgery was needed.
He added:
"I am very excited and feel good that after more than 5 months, I am in the India jersey. I am lucky to have got the chance back. There were many ups and downs in the journey because it is not easy if you stay away from cricket for 5 months."
Jadeja recently bagged eight wickets for Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy on his comeback. He will look to carry the momentum for Team India against the Aussies.
So far, the left-arm spinner has scalped 63 wickets in just 12 Tests against Australia. With 25 scalps, Jadeja was the highest wicket-taker when Australia last toured India in 2016-17. The left-hander can be handy with the bat in the lower order as well.
India squad for the first two Tests: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat and Suryakumar Yadav.