When Rohit Sharma said - "You should never go anywhere with [Ravindra] Jadeja"

Rohit Sharma's Team India has several star fielders, none better than all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Batters are always wary of his throwing and catching skills when Jadeja is around. One could perhaps compare him to a cheetah in an open field.

Things got bizarre when Jadeja came across a real cheetah in South Africa, along with several of his Indian teammates. The all-rounder almost got Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and their wives in deep trouble on that occasion. Sharma said he kept his calm at the time but internally felt like punching Jadeja.

During their tour of South Africa of three Tests, six ODIs and three T20Is, some of the Indian players decided to go for a jungle safari. A bit of extra fun from Jadeja almost landed the crew in trouble.

Narrating the incident, Rohit Sharma said:

“You should never go anywhere with Jadeja.”

Recalling their close encounter with the cheetahs, Rahane said that they had all gone for a safari as they initially thought that there would only be a couple of cheetahs ahead of them.

When confronted by the wild animals, most of the Indian contingent kept quiet but Jadeja made weird noises to attract their attention.

Here’s what Rohit Sharma told Vikram Sathaye on the YouTube channel ‘What the Duck’:

"It was because of Jadeja. He was making some weird noises and calling them. And we said, 'What are you doing?! We are in a jungle. If the cheetahs see us, they will make us their prey. But it was the best experience of our lives."

He added:

"The cheetahs were eating and you do not disturb them when they are eating. And then Jadeja started making some noises. The moment Jadeja started making noises, those cheetahs turned around to look at us.

"I looked at Jadeja angrily and I felt like punching him. But then I thought that it was necessary to stay calm at that stage."

Rahane further added that their wives were braver than the cricketers because they kept calm as instructed.

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“The government got involved”- Rohit Sharma recalls Ravindra Jadeja’s infamous selfie with Lion

Rohit Sharma also recalled another such incident with Jadeja when the latter landed in trouble for an infamous lion selfie in Gujarat.

"He had also done the same thing in Gujarat and the government got involved... So taking him along was not a good idea. Actually, we should have left him behind in the vehicle.”