‘I take the game deep to win it’: Ravindra Jadeja likes to finish the ‘Mahi way’ | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Be it launching the ball out of the park, putting brakes on the flow of runs or getting crucial breakthroughs, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja knows how to turn the game on its head. Apart from that, there is one more quality Jadeja has added to his game — the role of a finisher with the bat, a quality he learned from Mahendra Singh Dhoni. And the Saurashtra cricketer credits Dhoni for guiding him the right way.
Jadeja made his Test debut in 2012 (vs England in Nagpur) before earning his ODI and T20I caps in 2009. He made his debut in all three formats under Dhoni’s leadership.
“I like to finish matches and win it for my team. Now I have started to believe in myself and give more opportunities to myself to stay in the middle and take time. Whenever I get an opportunity to finish the game, I always take the game deep,” Jadeja told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Since 2017, Jadeja has played 24 Tests and scored 1009 runs at an average of 40.36. He has also 72 wickets. In the ODIs during that period, the 32-year-old has scored 497 runs in 32 matches, averaging 38.23, and has 33 wickets under his belt.
In 10 T20Is Jadeja has played since 2017, he has scored 101 runs besides picking up 10 wickets.
“Dhoni bhai always keeps telling me that whenever I get an opportunity, just think that like you are feeling the pressure, the bowler is feeling it as well. So don’t think just about yourself, but also the bowler. He (Dhoni) has been an amazing influence in my career,” Jadeja said.
Not just in India jersey, Jadeja had been Dhoni’s go-to man in the IPL as well for the Chennai Super Kings. He has played 191 matches in his IPL career so far and scored 2290 runs at an average of 26.62, including two fifties. He also has 120 wickets to his name, including three four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.

(File image of MS Dhoni and Jadeja during a Chennai Super Kings’ training session – TOI Photo)
Does Jadeja miss MS Dhoni?
To this, the all-rounder replied: “Yes, I definitely miss him because he was always guiding me in the right way. If I wasn’t doing the right thing on the field, he would come and talk to me, and tell me that I have to work some more on a particular aspect. He keeps talking to me, and our bond goes back 12 years. I do miss him.”
On being asked the difference between the captaincy style of Virat and Dhoni, Jadeja said: “I think they are both different in their captaincy. I think Dhoni bhai is very calm, but Virat is more of an aggressive and positive captain on the field. They both have their own styles to lead the team.”
Jadeja has also been selected in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup to be played in the UAE from October 17. He will also feature in the concluding phase of IPL 2021, which will also be held in the UAE, beginning September 19.