Ind vs WI | Ravindra Jadeja ageing like a fine wine

New Delhi: As Ravindra Jadeja addressed the media after winning a 11th Player of the Match award in the opening Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad, a journalist wanted to know the secret of his success, fitness and longevity. Advancements in science, training and nutrition have seen athletes push the boundaries, and the scribe was curious about the Saurashtra southpaw’s regimen, who at the age of 36 is ageing like fine wine.

“Can you just tell us about your sleep cycle? Do you sleep 8-9 hours? Do you not consume any milk…” started the journalist when Jadeja instantly started gesturing with his hands, saying, “Nahi, nahi sir, aisa kuch nahi (No, no sir, nothing like that). I just like to keep it simple and don’t think too much about all that. Sometimes I sleep less and sometimes more, depending on my mood,” remarked Jadeja. 

Intended queries about whey protein, lactic acid, keratin, training methods, gluten, etc., were instantly put to rest. But that’s Jadeja in a nutshell: uncomplicated, just like his bowling, batting, fielding, in fact, everything.

Even during his famed 13-year-old partnership with off-spinner R Ashwin, Jadeja loved keeping things basic. While Ashwin, an engineer by education, went on a highly experimental path, constantly adding deliveries, changing action and release points just to show the limits he can take his craft to, Jadeja just stuck to his wicket-to-wicket bowling. As Ashwin tried to outsmart his rivals with a cunning cocktail of drift, drip and varieties, Jadeja undid them by landing the balls repeatedly at one spot with just subtle variations in pace.   

That art of doing the basics right, repeatedly, is what endeared him to every captain, from Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the start of his career, followed by Virat Kohli and then Rohit Sharma. In fact, Jadeja ended up being the first choice spinner overseas despite Ashwin being better skilled with the ball primarily because of his metronomic bowling and superior fielding abilities. And to date, Jadeja, as fit and hungry as a budding cricketer, follows that mantra to the tee.

“On a serious note, when matches are approaching, I know when to start my training, when to change my food. I have a very good idea of my body, what it needs and in what state it is in at any time. I understand what is good for me. I do my training. I calculate all of it. But just that I don’t think too deeply about sleep cycle… I don’t post my training also on social media,” said Jadeja.

This simple yet calculated approach has allowed Jadeja to stay on top of his game despite being on the wrong side of 30s. In the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, he ended up being one of the star performers with the bat, hammering one century and five fifties for a series total of 516 runs. He almost threatened to pull off a miraculous backs-to-the-wall win at Lord’s, which India lost in heart-breaking fashion, before helping script a draw for the ages in Manchester in the very next game. Bowling-wise, he did his job of keeping things tight and bagged seven wickets.

Jadeja continued from where he left off in the opening Test against the West Indies in Ahmedabad. He smashed an unbeaten 104 off 176 balls and followed that up with 4/54 with the ball in the second innings. It was the fourth occasion where he bagged four or more wickets and scored a century in a Test — tying the record with Ashwin and the legendary Garry Sobers. He’s now just one shy of the overall record held by Ian Botham. Another record within reach is the 4000 runs and 350 wickets — Jadeja has 3990 and 334 scalps. 

Jadeja was asked about whether he has his eyes set on Kapil Dev’s unique record of 5000 runs and 400 wickets — the legend has 5248 runs and 434 wickets respectively. Jadeja laughed again. “Sir, you’re putting pressure on me now. I’ll have to start thinking about how to score 1000 more runs and take 60-70 more wickets! At this stage, I’m enjoying my cricket. I’m not thinking about other records or milestones. I’m just working on my fitness and enjoying my cricket. I just want to continue doing what I’ve been doing for so many years, that’s about it.”

That’s Jadeja again, keeping things simple.