Time away from cricket helped to regain domestic form, says Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has earned a recall to the Test squad after some excellent performances in the Ranji Trophy

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been picked up for the first two Test matches against South Africa believes that the time he spent away from cricket helped him to come back much stronger while playing for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy.

Jadeja's form for Saurashtra in the two Ranji Trophy matches has been dominating to say the least. He picked up 24 wickets in the four innings that he bowled with five-fors in all the innings. In addition to his bowling performance, he scored a couple of half-centuries to lead his side to victory in both the matches.

The 26-year-old all-rounder was speaking to bcci.tv about his recall to the Test squad. Jadeja stressed the importance of how staying away playing the game for a while helped him to recharge himself for the Ranji season.

“I didn’t go anywhere near a ground or bat or ball or did anything related to cricket. I had decided that I have to start the Ranji season afresh. I had decided to switch my mind off cricket and so got involved in other activities,” Jadeja revealed.

Jadeja spoke about how he played district-level matches in order to prepare for the Ranji Trophy. He believed that getting all the match practice he could was key to performing the way he did for Saurashtra.

The all-rounder also felt fortunate that he was called up so early in the domestic season, as usually players have to be consistent for a good five or six months before they get a call to the national squad.

“I hadn’t really thought much about getting selected for the Tests. But given the way I had played and performed in the two Ranji Trophy matches, I felt my name would come up in one way or the other (series). It wasn’t in my hands if I will be selected or not.”

“It was my job to perform in whatever opportunity I get. I was out of the team and every match was important for me. I tried to tick all the boxes and had to perform well in whatever matches I get,” Jadeja continued.

Jadeja's incredible form in the two Ranji matches is obviously something that the selectors could not ignore, considering that the India is playing South Africa in India. If Jadeja can replicate his domestic form at the international level, it will add firepower to India's bowling attack. With Ravichandran Ashwin still recovering from his side strain, Jadeja might have a good chance of making it to the starting XI.

Jadeja has been working on “ironing out minor errors” in order to help himself get back to form and especially sharpen his batting skills by treating every ball on its merit. He will be hoping that he will able to continue his form in case he makes the final Test squad and stake a claim to be a regular member.

The Saurashtra player has a decent international Test bowling record. He has picked up 45 wickets in the 12 Test matches he has played for India. However, his batting record is not very impressive as he has scored only 364 runs at an average of 21.41.

India play the first two Test matches at Mohali (November 5) and Bengaluru (November 14) after the ODI series ends on October 25.