Follow UsA cursory look at the Assam team’s scorecard would suggest that Ravindra Jadeja was not even part of the opposition unit - Saurashtra, as he has not been mentioned even once, either as a fielder or a bowler in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 encounter that took place at Rajkot.
One of the ace spinners that the world has ever seen, Jadeja, was part of the Saurashtra playing 11 but did not take the field in the second and third innings of the must-win game for the Jaydev Unadkat-led side.
After claiming 12 wickets in their previous encounter against Delhi and allowing their side to get back into the knockouts, Jadeja was not burdened with bowling and fielding duties as he would soon be playing for the national team, first in the three-match ODI series against England and then in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
But did Jadeja bat? Yes, he did. But that too because the team wanted some more runs. So instead of batting at his usual position of number six and seven, Jadeja came in to bat at number nine and scored 19 off 28 balls to get the team to 474.
Jadeja did not bowl, as Assam were rolled over not once but twice for 164 and 166, respectively, before reaching anywhere closer to the Saurashtra total.
Given that he batted at number nine and did not bowl, fears of injury developed amongst Jadeja’s fans, but they were cast away when a teammate on condition of anonymity cleared that Jadeja was fit and just wanted to rest his mind and body before the England series.
“He was not injured. We had just rested him on the field as a precautionary measure as he will be part of India’s Champions Trophy squad,” a Saurashtra team member was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.