ENG vs IND 2025: Ravindra Jadeja gives cheeky answer when asked about Test captaincy aspiration

Ravindra Jadeja has been playing international cricket since 2009. He is a veteran of 204 ODIs, 74 T20Is, and is currently playing his 82nd Test match. Ahead of the ongoing five-match Test series against England, India announced Shubman Gill as their new skipper in the format, as former skipper Rohit Sharma called time on his red-ball career. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant was named as Gill's deputy.

Interestingly, Jadeja, who is one of the most experienced cricketers in the Indian Test side, especially after the retirements of Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, wasn't considered for the captaincy role. However, the Saurashtra all-rounder isn't concerned about captaincy, and his target is to do well for India with bat, ball, as well as in the field.

In the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, India were in a spot of bother, having lost five wickets for 211 runs on Day 1. However, Jadeja joined Gill and the duo added 203 runs off just 279 for the sixth wicket.

After the end of play on Day 2, Jadeja, 36, was asked about whether the thought of becoming the Indian Test captain crossed his mind during his illustrious career. The experienced stalwart, with a smile on his face, told reporters after the end of the second day's play, "No, that time is gone now."

While Jadeja was dismissed after playing a brilliant 89-run knock off 137 deliveries, Gill continued on his way to a record-shattering 269 off 387 balls. India posted a massive first-innings total of 587 on the back of these knocks.

Jadeja lavished praise on Gill and said that the 25-year-old doesn't carry the added responsibility of captaincy when he is batting. The former mentioned that he felt Gill wouldn't get out the way he was batting.

"Honestly, he looks very confident. He does not look like a captain in batting. He has been given an extra responsibility. He is carrying everything with him. I do not feel anything like that in his batting. Even today, unluckily, the ball went in his (fielder's) hand. But today, I did not feel that he would be out in this inning. He played very well. When we were batting together, we were talking about partnership. That we will have a long partnership, and we will keep talking to each other," Jadeja said.

We will have to take two-three wickets before lunch tomorrow: Jadeja

After India were bowled out for 587, England lost two quick wickets as Akash Deep dismissed Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in the same over. Mohammed Siraj got the better of Zak Crawley, as England slumped to 25/3. Joe Root and Harry Brook joined forces and they helped resurrect the innings with an unbeaten 52-run partnership as England finished at 77/3 at Stumps on Day 2.

Jadeja asserted that the Indian team isn't looking too far ahead and will focus on picking up two to three wickets in the first session on Day 3. He also commended the energy with which India played on Thursday, June 3.

"We are not thinking too far ahead. We will have to take two-three wickets before lunch tomorrow. If we do that, then we will definitely be ahead in the game. Results can be anything. There have been big partnerships in cricket in the past. We will not take the game too lightly. We were playing with energy today. Hopefully, we will get a good result in India's favour," Jadeja said.