I always wanted to be a match-winner says Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav played a gem of an innings against the Delhi Daredevils to give the Royal Challengers Bangalore the first taste of victory this season. After being thumped by Sunrisers Hyderabad, they came back strongly and Kedar Jadhav was the catalyst of the comeback.

He came into bat in a tricky situation when RCB were 43 for 2. He took his time scoring 17 runs of 18 deliveries but then switched to his higher gears to take his team to a commendable total. In the post-match conference, Jadhav talked about how he has improved his fitness.

Last year Jadhav was mostly sidelined and that helped him work on his fitness and fielding which is important for any professional whether you are playing at the highest level or not. Jadhav emphasized on the same.

He said, “Last year, I didn’t play too many games, that gave me a good time to work on my fitness and fielding because batting was always there but these two things were not up to the mark as a professional cricketer. I got enough time to train with Shankar Basu. That has transformed my game. I am feeling much stronger, fitter.”

Jadhav who normally bats at number five or six was sent at number four due to the injury woes of his team and he delivered it in style. He scored 37 balls 69 and the management’s decision to send him higher was proved right.

Jadhav said, “I am in a phase where I am hitting the ball well. The experience part is also there. I have been playing first-class cricket for the past ten years. Everything is going for me. It is the management’s decision to bat me higher, and I am supporting them with performances like these.”

Kedar has been in phenomenal form and for a man who is not so stocky in his build up, he certainly can pack a punch. It takes more than talent to perform at this level and the man from Pune revealed what it takes.

“I have never wanted to be a player who will just get on the side; I have always wanted to be the player who will lead the side in matches with performances. This is how I train my mind and prepare. Whatever you are seeing is my approach, and I am converting it,” revealed Jadhav.

The tennis ball cricket certainly has helped Jadhav and he never fails to talk about it. He talked about how he first worked on his technique and then after getting the power he started playing the big shots. Jadhav said, “At the age of 15, I was improvising. Once I got power, I started hitting big shots. I keep all the options open and just react to the ball. I just react to the ball – whatever ball comes – because I can play almost all the shots.”