Former India captain Ajay Jadeja played his first competitive game in three years after a court, hearing his appeal against a five-year ban for his alleged role in the match-fixing scandal, permitted him to play domestic cricket.
Essential to India's plans in one-day internationals not only because of his ability to finish games, the 32-year-old was known for his relaxed and calculated approach to the game.
In an interview with Ashish Magotra, Jadeja discusses his return to the mainstream.
How does it feel to be back?
I was never away from cricket. I was always practicing, keeping myself fit. I have played three matches in the last four days. Whatever cricket I get to play [he could not play competitive cricket due to a five-year ban imposed on him by the BCCI] I enjoy it to the fullest.
Mark Waugh, Herschelle Gibbs and Shane Warne all played cricket even after being pronounced guilty in the betting scandal. Do you sometimes get the feeling that the BCCI was too harsh on you?
No, I don't think they were too harsh. The BCCI is doing something that they think is right, and they can do what they feel like because they are the parent body. But now the ban has been overturned and, thankfully, I can get back to playing cricket. That's what I am looking forward to. I would like to leave the past behind and forget what the BCCI or XYZ did.
Do you think you have a chance of representing India in international cricket again?
Of course, definitely I think I have a chance. I have 4-5 years of cricket in me and if I keep myself fit, if I give myself that period of time, I am sure I will make it to the team. Maybe, not tomorrow morning; but yes, I have to push myself and if there is a place in the side and it's written in my destiny, I am sure I will play.
Any talk of Mohammad Azharuddin and you reminds people of the betting scandal. How will you overcome that feeling of bitterness?
I have been very fortunate to get a lot of love and affection from the people of this nation. Even when I played my first game back [on May 31 for Sahara Air] I was greeted by over a thousand people! Because when people read a story they forget about what happened then. When this whole thing happened, there was a huge story about me having a house in Cyprus and a Swiss bank account, but today nobody wants to know about it because it does not make a nice story.
There was a cousin of mine who lives there and has an account in a Swiss bank and a house in Cyprus, and when the story broke out, his passport and papers were in the house. That day it looked very rosy and they made a great story about it. People look at life everyday in a new sense; they forget what happened five days back. Nobody really knows what happened. I came out in the media, all the questions that were out I tried to answer each and every one.
As a cricketer, have you changed in any particular way?
I don't think so. As a cricketer, I certainly enjoyed the way I played cricket. I don't know about the people but I certainly loved it. I had my own way; I wasn't a very technically sound player. I had my own style of playing. I was always in and out of the team, but towards the end I think I carved a place for myself.
Sourav Ganguly has been one of the most outspoken Indian captains ever. What are your views on him?
I think he has done a good job. Being the captain is not easy... almost as difficult as being the prime minister in this country, because expectations are the same or probably higher. The PM does not control every part of the country but you do. So, it's a tough job, but he has carried it well. Being outspoken, or anything else, it's like everything else, whether you love it or lump it. It's his style and he is the captain because he is winning.
This is a very young Indian cricket team. A good future in the offing?
I am not a person who looks at the future. I don't believe in cricket that you can say X person is going to be around for so long. For example,. Vinod Kambli, one of the best cricketers I have seen, burst on the cricketing scene in the 1990s with a bang, slamming double centuries and now a few years later he is nowhere. Somebody like Sanjay Manjrekar, the greatest technician in the sport, did not even play half the number of games he should have. So you cannot predict the future in this sport. You have to plan for the future, but there are not many Tendulkars in this world who can debut at 16 and go on till 36.
I think this team is doing very well. To be among the top 1-2-3 in the world is very good indeed. You have to push yourself to be number one all the time.
Australia have had a record-breaking winning streak in the recent past. Do you think it will ever be matched?
Yes, I think in every sport records are only meant to be broken. There is no record in the world which has stayed on forever, whether it is the 10-second barrier in sprinting or chasing 300 in ODIs; there always is a first time for everything. That's what sport is all about; it's about excelling, beating the other person. A combination of the mind and the body. You always get better and better. I am sure someday it will be broken.
On the cricket field, you have a very smooth, relaxed approach. Why do you think people sledge? Is the whole controversy just being blown out of proportion?
I think it has been blown out of proportion. I think if you ask any cricketer from the fifties or the sixties they will say it used to happen then and it happened in the seventies and the eighties as well. I think the only reason that it is being highlighted is because: 1. It makes a nice story, and 2. because the cameras are so sharp today. In the eighties, you could not even make out who the batsmen or the bowlers are. Today, you can see every little strain on the bowlers face and that makes a huge difference. So everything gets highlighted. It's comes with the game; everything off the field is being highlighted as well; the players are made to look larger than life and all good and bad things will be enlarged.
Playing cricket again, acting in the movies and the birth of a son. Is life perfect right now?
Life is always perfect. I think God has a script written for you and you just have to play your part and go home.
