India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is all set to make his return to the Indian team in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia after a lengthy injury lay-off.

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.

The 34-year-old was included in the Test squad for the Bangladesh tour in December but was later ruled out as he was unable to prove his fitness. His last Test appearance was the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston in July 2022.

Speaking in an interview with bcci.tv, Jadeja shared his excitement on donning the Indian jersey again.

“I am very excited and happy that after almost more than 5 months, I get to wear the Indian jersey again. I have been blessed that I was given a chance again and the journey to reach here was full of up and downs. Because if you are not playing cricket for 5 months, it becomes very frustrating and obviously, I was eagerly waiting to get fit as soon as possible so that I can go play for India,” Jadeja stated.

Giving a sneak peek about his knee surgery and the rehabilitation, the southpaw said: “I had a problem with my knee and I had to get surgery sooner or later. But I had to take the decision whether I would have it before the World Cup or after. So the doctor also advised me to do it before the World Cup because even if I didn’t do the surgery, the chance of me playing the World Cup was anyway pretty less. So I made up my mind and went for the surgery.”

The knee surgery kept him out of action for a considerable period and Jadeja admitted that the hiatus was a difficult phase for him.

“But the period after that was pretty difficult because you have to continuously do rehab and training. You had thoughts in your head about your fitness When you saw the matches on TV, like I was watching the World Cup, I wished that I was there. These small things motivate you to speed up the recovery process,” he said.

“The physios and trainers at the NCA worked a lot on my knee. Even when the NCA was closed on Sundays, they would come and specially treat me. The 2 months after the injury was especially tough because I couldn’t go anywhere, I couldn’t walk properly. That was a pretty critical time and there my family and friends stood by my side. The NCA trainers also boosted my confidence,” Jadeja further remarked.

Praising the NCA staff, the all-rounder said: “Whenever I said I was in pain, they (NCA trainers) used to tell me ‘Do it for the country, not for yourself’. So that motivated me and I was very happy that they were very serious about my knee and they wanted me to be fit as quickly as possible so that I can go back and play for the team.”

Last week, a fit-again Ravindra Jadeja made a return to competitive cricket in Saurashtra's Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu. He took a seven-wicket haul in the second innings and bowled 41.1 overs in the match, besides registering scores of 15 and 25.

“I felt a bit weird because I hadn’t been out in the sun for 5 months. I was doing indoor training as well as training in the gym so when I went into the middle I was thinking if my body can sustain. First day was very tough and we all know about Chennai’s heat. Then my body acclimatized to the situation and I felt good and thought that I can consider myself to be fit. Luckily that match went well and I got wickets as well so it gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.