Ravindra Jadeja is back at the Rajasthan Royal for his second stint, 17 years after the previous one. Jadeja in fact was part of the Royals team in the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008, where the Rajasthan franchise won the first edition of the IPL, under the captaincy of Shane Warne.
Jadeja’s first stint saw him play two seasons for Royals, before a short stint with the Kochi Taskers in IPL 2011. Jadeja then moved to Chennai Super Kings in 2012 and went on to win multiple three IPL titles at CSK squads – in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
It was during those first two years where Warne saw the mercurial potential of Jadeja. And also a slight problem.
In his autobiography, No Spin, Warne described Jadeja thus: “We loved him (Jadeja) from the minute we saw his approach and enthusiasm. There was a bit of ‘boy wonder’ in him so we gave him a longer leash than most, but his lack of discipline was a problem because it sometimes led the younger guys down the wrong path. We let a few things go but I cannot stand anyone who is late for anything.”
Warne detailed how he could not stand players on the team being late, and disciplined Jadeja on one such instance.
“Ravi Jadeja was always late. First time, there was a bit of confusion with bags and stuff, so I let it slide. Second time, no good – the bus left at 9 am for training and he wasn’t on it, so he had to make his own way to the ground and, of course, was late again. On the way back after training, I stopped the bus halfway to the hotel and said, ‘Guys, we had someone late again this morning. Ravi, mate, get off here and walk home.’ One of his mates made a fuss, so I told him to get off too and they could walk back to the hotel together. No-one was late after that,” Warne wrote in his autobiography No Spin.
On Saturday, when the trade from CSK was announced, Jadeja said: “Rajasthan Royals gave me my first platform and my first taste of victory. Coming back feels special – it’s not just a team for me, it’s home. Rajasthan Royals is where I won my first IPL, and I hope to win more with this current group of players.”
