'They didn’t say anything, just saw 'VC' next to my name' - Ravindra Jadeja says vice-captaincy came as surprise to him

Ravindra Jadeja has revealed that even he did not know about his vice-captaincy until he saw 'VC' written next to his name in the team sheet when the squad for the ongoing West Indies series was announced. Jadeja is currently Shubman Gill's deputy during the two-match Test series against West Indies.

Jadeja also expressed that it was an honour to be in a leadership position and commented that he was more than willing to come of any use whenever anything strategic needed to be discussed with the captain or the backroom staff.

“They didn’t say anything to me. I just saw 'VC' written next to my name when the team was announced. End of the day, whatever experience you have to share, you do it for the team. They gave me the respect. The captain, the coach and the management have decided to give me the responsibility. Whenever the team needs anything regarding team planning or whatever, I am always happy to contribute," stated Jadeja in a video released by ICC.

The ace all-rounder admitted that the England series provided him a lot of trust in his game. He concluded by saying that he wanted to contribute with bat and ball in this series as well.

“As a player, I gain my confidence. Whenever you perform in England, you get the confidence. Hopefully, I can continue and take forward that confidence into this series, score some runs and take some wickets,” he added.

India bundled the touring side for 162 in 44.1 overs on Day 1 of the series-opening clash. While the new-ball duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj starred with three and four wickets, respectively, Jadeja went wicketless in the three overs he bowled.

The hosts went back 121/2 at stumps, trailing by 41 runs with KL Rahul (53* off 114) and Shubman Gill (18* off 42) occupying the crease. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan were the two batters to fall.