Ravindra Jadeja has made a spectacular comeback to the Indian Test squad with 21 wickets against his name in the series against South Africa thus far.
- Luck and timing crucial to Jadeja's impressive comeback
- India in command after captain Kohli leads by example
Spinner all-rounder Jadeja (5-30) orchestrated South Africa's rout in glorious sunshine at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium as the hosts thoroughly dominated the second day's play but did not enforce the follow-on on Friday.
The left-arm spinner, on Saturday, said, that when he dropped from the Indian squad, negativity had crept in him for a while.
"There was a lot of negativity that crept inside me and I felt I needed to get rid of that. Now with my performances, I hope to do well in coming matches also. I told you guys in Mohali that for three months, I have not even thought about cricket.
"I was concentrating on personal life. I was doing horse riding and I was not talking about any cricketing matters with anyone nor was I encouraging any such discussion. Three months, I took complete off," he said.
Jadeja thanked Sutanshu Kotak, a former dogged left-hander from Saurashtra and now the senior team's coach for helping him during testing times.
- 'Jadeja is one of the best bowlers in India on a turning wicket'
"When Ranji Trophy camp started in Rajkot, I spoke to our coach Sitanshu Kotak what to do. He also did some planning for me, we interacted a lot as he knows me from my U-14 days. He knows my strengths and which areas I should work. Rajkot's home advantage also worked.
"Sitanshu knows me for 12 years and I have played first-class cricket with him for 7 years. We have been room partners. He tells me everything, from what I must be thinking after having reached a certain score and what entails me to hit a certain kind of shot at that juncture. Subtle things that needs to be done," Jadeja said.
