Once he was the hearthrob of a nation — a dashing young batsman, an outstanding fielder with a handsome personality to boot.
Ajay Jadeja had quite a following thanks to his street-smart batting which swung many a one-dayer India’s way.
Though he scored six centuries and 5,359 runs in 196 ODIs, it was his 25-ball blitz of 45 against Pakistan during the 1996 World Cup quarter-final in Bangalore which created a cult following.
His Test career was limited to 15 matches and 576 runs with a modest average of 26.18. Overall, his international career spanned eight years before match-fixing allegations curtailed it.
The courts cleared him and he continued to play domestic cricket for seven more years but he had fallen off the selectors’ radar by then. Now, in the role of a cricket pundit, the 41-year-old has greyed but still continues to attract eyeballs.
Jadeja, who was on the experts panel of Ten Sports during India’s recent limited-overs tour to Sri Lanka, spoke to Sport360° in a free-wheeling chat on matters relating to Indian cricket.
Indian cricket is undergoing a transition. Your views?
You can say that, but I guess most teams are generally in a transitional phase. Very rarely do you find players who have been there for years together. We were fortunate to have (Rahul) Dravid, (Sachin) Tendulkar, (VVS) Laxman and (Saurav) Ganguly.
It will be tough for the players who come in next. I feel bad for any young boy who will be replacing them. When Dravid came in or Ganguly or Laxman came in, they did not have the kind of expectation which a current player will have. They came in as talented and promising boys, grew with the game and over the years established themselves.
Does India have suitable replacements for these legends?
I am a firm believer that in life, and sport, the next generation is always better. They are always one step ahead because they would have learnt enough from other people’s mistakes and they bring in their own style or their own system of playing the game. They already know how to train now because it’s been done scientifically. They know how great players work.
India have suffered two humiliating overseas Test series losses? Is it a matter of concern, or life goes on…
You should be concerned, no doubt about it. But I think life will go on because there will be a big difference this year. Last year we played a lot overseas. Now we are back home, everything will be fine. We are back to daal chawal (rice and lentil – staple food). We don’t have to eat pasta anymore.
We don’t have to worry. It’s as simple as that because conditions are going to be like that. You will have the same teams — England and Australia — coming to India now. By the end of this season, we will know.
Is a home series a good time to blood talent?
Look, young talent makes its own way. If you give something easily to somebody, I think they probably don’t cherish it that much. Unfortunately, in the last five years since the IPL, we have had 40-50 new players playing for India, which is a joke.
It is easier to blood them when the team is winning. But for that, you have to first identify who you want. If you want to play pehle tu (first you), phir tu (then you), then neither player is sure (of his place). Pick who you want and then stick with him. I think you have already achieved one of your targets with Virat Kohli filling Ganguly’s slot. Now you have to think about the other spots.
The Indian captaincy has also been under discussion. Is it time for a change?
I don’t understand why. Why would you change the CEO of a company who has been there for four years, unless you find a better one? You may change if he decides to leave. I don’t see Mahendra Singh Dhoni wanting to leave at this moment. So when he decides, we’ll look into it.
But hasn’t the team has fared badly under his leadership overseas?
Then you are implying it is a case of the captain who wins or loses the game; the other 10 have no role to play. Which means you have got to change the team as well. The guy who is now vice-captain (Kohli) has not even led his state — Delhi — and the guys whom you have been grooming for three years are not the ones who are in line.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been accused of not giving much importance to Tests and promoting the Indian Premier League (IPL) instead?
I don’t think so. In fact, they have added more days to the Ranji Trophy (four-day national championship). India is playing more Tests than ever. To blame BCCI for that is wrong. I think it has more to do with the advertising media which wants a certain kind of product more often. IPL has not taken any Tests away from Indian cricket. We played around 12 Tests each year the last two years, which is much more than our time, when we played five a year.
The IPL has also come under heavy criticism…
Somebody who enjoys the game or is addicted to the game, ask him if he would mind more of what he gets. Guys who are playing are not complaining. Guys who are not associated with it or don’t get something out of it are the ones complaining. To criticise the IPL or other T20 leagues around the world is a case of sour grapes.
The Umpires Decision Review System (UDRS) has also been another issue with the BCCI. What is your take on it?
My take on it is totally different. As somebody who has played the game, the first thing that is taught to you is when an umpire gives a decision, you abide by it. Sometimes it goes in your favour, sometimes it goes against you.
Now, DRS is for the 500-odd who play international cricket. But cricket is not just played by these 500, it is played by billions. The first umpire any kid has is either his coach or his father and they teach the child that whatever the decision, you have to accept it.
But he watches on television that his hero, who has been given out, goes to the third umpire and says this decision is wrong I want to review it. Now that goes against the whole ethics of the sport. I am against it for that basic reason. DRS is a waste of time. I don’t believe in it.
You cannot question the umpire. You don’t have cameras when the kids are playing, they don’t have DRS. How will they play this game is my question? You are taking the game away from them.
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