“I would also bowl bouncers to batters,” Jadeja recalls his fondness to become a fast bowler while growing up

Ravindra Jadeja played a key role in India's recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph.

Ravindra Jadeja’s exploits as a spin all-rounder have earned him a lot of plaudits over the years. Although his career has been marred by injuries lately, Jadeja remains an integral member of the Indian team across formats.

Jadeja may have made a name for himself as a spin all-rounder, but he wanted to become a fast bowler and bowl bouncers to batters while growing up.

"When I started playing cricket long back, I used to love being a fast bowler. I used to love seeing other fast bowlers bowling bouncers. Watching them, even I used to think that I would also bowl bouncers to batters, but I didn’t have the speed to be a fast bowler," said Jadeja on Star Sports.

In August 2022, Jadeja had to leave the Asia Cup midway to undergo surgery on his right knee. Subsequently, he underwent an extended rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

After a lengthy hiatus, Jadeja made a stunning comeback to international cricket last month during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won 2-1 against Australia. He played a key role in the team’s victory, finishing the four-match Test series with 22 wickets and 135 runs.

Jadeja also revealed that his cricketing journey has been between two "Mahendras", one his coach and the other his CSK captain Dhoni.

"I told this to Mahi bhai, that my cricketing journey has been between Mahendra Singh Chauhan, my coach in Jamnagar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, my captain at CSK. My cricketing journey has really been between these two Mahendra’s," said Jadeja.

Ravindra Jadeja will be next seen in action in the 2023 edition of IPL, slated to get underway on March 31.