Ravindra Jadeja, a star all-arounder for India, has been enjoying his time off from cricket at the moment after missing the T20 World Cup earlier this month due to an injury. He is now supporting his wife Rivaba, who just declared a BJP contender for the next Gujarat election from the Jamnagar (north) Assembly constituency. Jadeja recently reflected on his very first encounter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which took place over ten years ago and shared the epic response he had when MS Dhoni introduced him.
In a video interview published by the Free Press Journal, Jadeja disclosed that he first met PM Modi in 2010. The Indian team was in Ahmedabad for a game at the time, and the latter was the chief minister of Gujarat. Dhoni, the captain at the time, presented Jadeja to the Prime Minister, he laughed and said, “He’s our boy”.
Jadeja recalled, “I had first met him (Modi) in 2010 in Ahmedabad. He was the chief minister of Gujarat back then.”
He added, “We (India) had a match against South Africa in the Motera Stadium. Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni), who was our captain back then introduced me to him. Modi Sahab ne khud bola ki ‘bhai ye toh apna ladka hai, dhyaan rakhna (Modi Sahab said himself, ‘He’s our boy, take care of him)’. He said so with a laugh while being in a light mood).
“That’s when you feel…. a person of such big stature comes to you and says this personally. Ek alag si feeling aati hai. I felt really good when he said this.”
In terms of cricket, Jadeja hasn’t played since September due to an injury that prevented him from competing in the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. He was also passed over for the current New Zealand trip. However, he is anticipated to come back for the Bangladesh Test series the following month.
