Ravindra Jadeja’s sister says that the all-rounder doesn’t eat lunch

After retirement, many cricketers have opened their own food joints. Sourav Ganguly had one in Kolkata before it was shut, while Sachin Tendulkar had one also in Mumbai. But Ravindra Jadeja came up with a food joint in prime days of his career. He opened up ‘Jaddu’s Food Joint’ in his hometown Jamnagar, Gujarat. Having done well in his career for India, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, Jadeja started the restaurant in 2012.

Jadeja also emerged as one of India’s next dependable all-rounders during the recently concluded long series at home. He was especially instrumental in India regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It is said that Jadeja is a huge foodie who loves Punjabi food, but also maintains the diet a cricketer is expected to.

Times of India spoke to Jadeja’s sister, whom the cricketer considers very close. He lost his mother at a pretty early age which made their relationship and bonding that much stronger.

“He loves Punjabi and our Gujarati food but doesn’t eat dhoklas. He avoids ‘rich’ food. He’s careful about his diet. He’s conscious of his weight- he knows that his fielding is strong because of his fitness.”

Naina, as his sister is called, also revealed that Jadeja doesn’t have lunch, he enjoys his breakfast after which he directly eats dinner.

“He has a heavy breakfast, and would then directly eat dinner he doesn’t have lunch.”

Jadeja’s sister also plays his advisory and his off-field personal manager. Naina manages all of his off-fields ventures, including the restaurant. Jadeja lost his mother in 2005 when she was caught in a fire in her home. Naina revealed how Jadeja coped up with the irreparable loss, the secret to his mental strength. She narrates how, soon after the mother’s demise, Jadeja was offered to join the India U-19 camp.

“Jaddu was just 16-17 when we lost our mother. On the 12th day of her mourning period, we got a letter from the BCCI which asked him to join the camp for the India U-19 team for the junior World Cup. I decided to make him a mentally tough person since then itself. I asked him to play in the World Cup because his mother badly wanted him to play for India. He went there and did well (10 wickets in six games@13.00), and never looked back.”

Naina further goes on to reveal that Jadeja’s introvert nature is often mistaken as his attitude and that despite his fame, he still remains as grounded as ever.

When asked the reason why Jadeja avoids speaking to the media, Naina’s reply was straightforward. She said that Jadeja wasn’t performing well, the media severely criticised him. “You guys haven’t been good to him. Many media persons have criticised him heavily, written wrong things about him, and commented that he wasn’t good enough for Test cricket. It can hurt anyone, and he’s no different. He’s an emotional person,” she said.