'I was searching for the commentary box' - Ravindra Jadeja reveals he targeted his sword celebrations at Sanjay Manjrekar during the 2019 World Cup

The altercation between Ravindra Jadeja and Sanjay Manjrekar during the 2019 World Cup is well known in the cricketing world. Manjrekar had called Jadeja a bits and pieces cricketer, and this comment did not sit well with Jadeja. Not one to take the comment lightly, Jadeja had stated that Manjrekar had indulged in verbal diarrhea.

During the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup between India and New Zealand, Jadeja played a scintillating knock and brought India within touching distance of victory. The left-hander scored 77 off just 59 deliveries and took the New Zealand bowlers to the cleaners.

And now, Jadeja has stated that he was in fact searching for Manjrekar in the commentary box after his fifty so that he could target his sword celebrations directly at him.

“Tab toh Bhatta garam tha, na! (The grill was hot, then!) I was searching for the commentary box. Then I thought, it must be somewhere there, only. And those who understand would know who I was targeting the celebration at!” said Jadeja as quoted by The Indian Express.

Ravindra Jadeja opens up on the Test match that changed everything for him

Ravindra Jadeja further added that the Test match against England at The Oval in 2018 changed his game completely. He also added that when a batsman scores runs in England conditions against the best bowling attack in the world, it makes them feel good. Jadeja concluded by stating that he even made a comeback into the Indian ODI side after that Test match against England and revealed that from there on everything has been fine for him.

“That Test changed everything for me. Poora (complete) game. My performance, my confidence, everything. When you score in English conditions against the best bowling attack, it greatly impacts your confidence. It makes you feel your technique is good enough to score anywhere in the world. Later, Hardik Pandya got injured and I made my ODI comeback. From then on, my game has been going well, touchwood,” concluded Jadeja.

Ravindra Jadeja is now an integral part of the Indian side in all three formats of the game. He will next be seen in Indian colors when India locks horns against New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) on 18th June 2021.