'Earlier, when Ravindra Jadeja used to bowl…': Pujara on all-rounder's mindset

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Team India is set to clash against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series. The first game is scheduled to be played from August 15 at the Galle International Cricket Stadium near Galle Fort.

The series will also mark the return of Team India’s star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. He was out of action due to a tennis elbow injury. The left-handed batsman had sustained an injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

Ahead of the series, former Team India’s cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara spoke about Jadeja’s recent shift in mindset in the longest format of the game.

He feels that earlier Jadeja used to bowl with a mindset of not conceding too many runs, but now he sticks to his strengths and bowls accordingly.

“Earlier, when Ravindra Jadeja used to bowl, his mindset was not to give away too many runs, especially in red-ball cricket. If there was a little help in the wicket, then he would try to take wickets. But if the wicket was not conducive to bowlers, his focus was on restricting the runs. But now, he has understood his own strengths and is bowling accordingly,” said Pujara.

The former cricketer then said that the Gujarat-born cricketer has started making better use of the crease and bowls in line of the stumps with an aim of dismissing the batsman.

“In every game, he is trying to land the ball in the line of the stumps and get the batter out. Earlier, his mindset was a little more defensive, but now he is delivering every ball with the purpose of taking a wicket. So, you think a little more about your game. You use the crease a little better, try to go wider, and adjust your length according to the batter. That mental shift is very important for the game,” said the veteran of 103 Test matches.

India’s squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka

Shubman Gill (C), KL Rahul (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi.

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