Ravindra Jadeja knows how to shut down rumours.
Jadeja has been ruled out of the tour of South Africa with a forearm injury he sustained during the first Test against New Zealand last month.
A report in a Hindi newspaper suggested that the injury may require surgery and that the 33-year-old cricketer is mulling Test retirement as a result.
Jadeja, who has taken 232 wickets in 57 Tests for India, was quick to quash the rumours with a tweet.
'Long way to go,' he simply tweeted with an emoji of flexing muscles and a photo of him smiling.
While his team-mates boarded a flight to South Africa on Thursday, Jadeja, who has been favoured ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin on tours in recent times, will be missed by his team.
But Test captain Virat Kohli expects fringe players to grab their chances in Jadeja's absence.
'Jadeja is a very important player for us, he contributes to all three departments, which is invaluable overseas, and he will be missed,' the skipper said on Wednesday.
'That said, we do have the quality in the side to be able to create the best combination possible and still be able to win Test matches because we've created that bench strength and environment where people coming in are seizing opportunities, grabbing it with both hands, and making sure the team is helped by their performances,' Kohli added.
'As much as we'll miss him, it won't be a deciding factor.'
