"I had no such intention" - Ravindra Jadeja issues clarification over Ben Stokes' protest on Day 2 of 2nd ENG vs IND 2025 Test

Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja issued a clarification after England captain Ben Stokes seemed irked with him on Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test in Birmingham on Thursday, July 3. Stokes was constantly complaining to the umpires about Jadeja running straight down the pitch. The Indian cricketer, however, stated that he might have only done it unintentionally and that too a couple of times.

India dominated Day 2 of the second Test against England. Resuming their first innings on 310-5, they ended up scoring 587. Skipper Shubman Gill led from the front with a career-best 269, while Jadeja himself contributed 89. In reply, England went to stumps at 77-3 after 20 overs.

At the press conference after the second day's play, Jadeja was asked to shed light on why Stokes seemed unhappy when he was batting out in the middle. The 36-year-old explained (via ESPNcricinfo):

"He [Stokes] felt I was making rough for myself. The fast bowlers were doing it anyway. I don't need to do that. He was repeatedly telling the umpire that I am running on the wicket. I had no such intention. It might have happened once or twice by mistake, but I didn't mean to."

Jadeja was looking good for his second hundred in as many Tests at Edgbaston. However, he perished for 89, fending a well-directed short ball from Josh Tongue to the keeper. The left-hander had scored 104 in the Birmingham Test in 2022.

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"Whenever Kuldeep Yadav gets an opportunity, he’ll do well" - Ravindra Jadeja

Following the toss on Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test, India's playing XI became a massive topic of debate. The visitors rested lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah. Also, all-rounder Washington Sundar was preferred over left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Asked about the latter being left out of the playing XI yet again, Jadeja said:

"Whenever Kuldeep Yadav gets an opportunity, he’ll do well — he’s a wicket-taker. I spend time with him, but whenever we go out, we never discuss cricket. A player should always focus on controlling the controllables."

A number of cricket experts slammed India's decision to leave Kuldeep out of the final XI for the Edgbaston Test. In the first Test at Headingley in Leeds, another all-rounder Shardul Thakur was preferred over him.

Kuldeep made his Test debut back in 2017. However, over a period of eight years, the 30-year-old has only featured in 13 Tests matches. Kuldeep has claimed 56 wickets at an impressive average of 22.16, with four five-fers.