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'Jadeja not known to provoke the opposition or invite confrontations'

July 16, 2014 18:39 IST
Ravindra Jadeja

Haresh Pandya speaks to Ravindra Jadeja's domestic coach, his state teammates and his elder sister, who all are confident that the all-rounder is not to be blamed in his spat with James Anderson as he never likes to get involved in controversies, both on and off the field.

The controversy involving India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and English fast bowler James Anderson in the first Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, is unlikely to die down so easily with the sport's ruling body -- the International Cricket Council -- stepping in to probe into the incident.

It may have appeared to many in England that Jadeja is probably fond of inviting confrontations because of his usually aggressive approach to his entire cricket but he is not.

He is a quiet kind of a guy who prefers his bat and ball to do the talking on his behalf. Neither in domestic cricket nor at the international level has Jadeja figured in any major controversy save the latest one and the general impression is that he is able to keep his cool in the most difficult of circumstances. He was banned from the Indian Premier League for one season but that was for non-cricketing reasons.

"Ravindra is a committed cricketer with a thoroughly professional approach to both his game and performance," said his state team Saurashtra's coach Debu Mitra.

"His style of play is such that people may tend to mistake him for an arrogant player sometimes. But he is a quiet, cheerful guy on and off the field. He does not like to get involved into controversies and he has so far steered himself clear of them."

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'Ravindra is one of the nicest guys to have in the team'

July 16, 2014 18:39 IST
Ravindra Jadeja

Saurashtra captain Jaydev Shah echoed similar views.

"He does enjoys having fun and and lighter moments with his teammates, both on and off the field, but he is not known to provoke the opposition or invite confrontations. If he appears to be a bit aggressive on the field, is is an inborn quality in him. Ravindra is one of the nicest guys to have in the team," said Shah under whom Jadeja has played all his first-class cricket for Saurashtra.

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'He does not like to get involved in any controversy'

July 16, 2014 18:39 IST
Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja's elder sister Naina is "surprised" by the incident involving her brother and Anderson.

"Anyone who knows Ravindra well, will vouch for the fact that he is a man of few words regardless of his aggressive approach on the field," she said. "Far from inviting confrontations, he does not like to get involved in any controversy. And why should he? He loves a challenge and he faces it and answers it in the way a true sportsman should."