India all rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be making his comeback to the India team against Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy after missing a chunk of action due to injury.
Speaking in an interview with BCCI.tv, Jadeja talks about pulling on the Indian jersey again as well as his rehabilitation process after his surgery.
“I am very excited and happy that after almost more than 5 months, I get to wear the Indian jersey again. I have been blessed that I was given a chance again and the journey to reach here was full of up and downs. Because if you are not playing cricket for 5 months, it becomes very frustrating and obviously, I was eagerly waiting to get fit as soon as possible so that I can go play for India,” he said.
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 🎥 🔽https://t.co/wLDodmTGQK pic.twitter.com/F2XtdSMpTv
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 5, 2023
Talking about his knee and its rehabilitation after surgery, he said, ” I had a problem with my knee and I had to get surgery sooner or later. But I had to take the decision whether I would have it before the World Cup or after. So the doctor also advised me to do it before the World Cup because even if I didn’t do the surgery, the chance of me playing the World Cup was anyway pretty less. So I made up my mind and went for the surgery.”
Jadeja missed the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia as he had to undergo the knee surgery which kept him sidelined for the aforementioned 5 months.
“But the period after that was pretty difficult because you have to continuously do rehab and training. You had thoughts in your head about your fitness When you saw the matches on TV, like I was watching the World Cup, I wished that I was there. These small things motivate you to speed up the recovery process,” he said talking about the aftermath of the surgery.
“The physios and trainers at the NCA worked a lot on my knee. Even when the NCA was closed on Sundays, they would come and specially treat me. The 2 months after the injury was especially tough because I couldn’t go anywhere, I couldn’t walk properly. That was a pretty critical time and there my family and friends stood by my side. The NCA trainers also boosted my confidence,” Jadeja said, heaping praise on the NCA staff.
“Whenever I said I was in pain, they (NCA trainers) used to tell me ‘Do it for the country, not for yourself’. So that motivated me and I was very happy that they were very serious about my knee and they wanted me to be fit as quickly as possible so that I can go back and play for the team,” he added.
Last month, Jadeja made his first class cricket comeback in Saurashtra’s final round of Ranji Trophy fixture against Tamil Nadu in Chennai on January 24.
“I felt a bit weird because I hadn’t been out in the sun for 5 months. I was doing indoor training as well as training in the gym so when I went into the middle I was thinking if my body can sustain. First day was very tough and we all know about Chennai’s heat. Then my body acclimatized to the situation and I felt good and thought that I can consider myself to be fit. Luckily that match went well and I got wickets as well so it gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.