'It was very emotional. But I told myself that changes like these are also part of the journey.'
Key Points
- Ravindra Jadeja starred in Royals' thumping eight-wicket victory against CSK, picking up 2/18 in three overs.
- Jadeja enjoyed a long, successful, stint with CSK from 2012 to 2025 except two seasons when the franchise was banned.
- Jadeja's gun-firing celebration after taking Shivam Dube's wicket left many fans stunned.
Senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said leaving Chennai Super Kings was a 'difficult' decision but he is happy to be back at Rajasthan Royals -- where he won his first IPL title in the inaugural edition of the league in 2008.
Jadeja enjoyed a long, successful, stint with CSK from 2012 to 2025 except two seasons when the franchise was banned. The all-rounder was part of three title-winning campaigns at CSK -- 2018, 2021 and 2023 -- picking up more than 150 wickets and scoring over 2,300 runs in the iconic yellow jersey.
Jadeja agreed to return to Royals ahead of the IPL 2026 players' auction, taking a pay cut from Rs 18 crore to Rs 14 crore.
'I'm liking the pink colour. The yellow had started to feel a bit old, but I'm just joking.
'Obviously, leaving a franchise like CSK, where I had played for 12-13 years, was a little difficult initially. It was very emotional. But I told myself that changes like these are also part of the journey.
'The good thing was that I am now with the team where I had first won an IPL title. That memory has always stayed with me, that after the Under-19 World Cup, I started my IPL career there and won the title in my very first season.
'I have carried those memories along with a positive mindset, and my aim is to learn as much as I can with the new group and also share my experience with the team,' Jadeja told JioHotstar.
How Jadeja Plotted Dube's Downfall
On Monday, Jadeja starred in Royals' thumping eight wicket victory against CSK. He played a crucial role with the ball, picking up 2/18 in three overs, including the key wickets of Shivam Dube (6) and Sarfaraz Khan (17).
'The wicket was a bit sticky, so it suited my kind of bowling. My job was simply to bowl in the right areas. When you hit the right areas on a wicket that is holding up slightly, the ball tends to grip and come slower, which feels good as a bowler. Getting such a surface to bowl on in the very first match boosts your confidence as a bowler.'
The left-arm spinner revealed how he had planned left-hander Dube's decision against whom he has bowled in the nets at CSK and Team India.
'I was thinking of bowling it at the stumps, as I wanted to take a chance in case he didn't middle it.
'But when he hit me for a six, I quickly changed my strategy to bowling wide, as he would have kept hitting me on a straight line. So, I decided to finish on the fifth-sixth-stump line, thinking that if he went across, he might not get his timing right, and that's what happened. Luckily, he did not get the elevation he was looking for, and it was a big wicket for us.'
Jadeja's gun-firing celebration after taking Dube's wicket left many fans stunned, but the spinner says it was nothing special.
'When I played for CSK, I used to celebrate similarly, so, it was my to be continued moment. A batter like Dube doesn't give you any room for error and tries to hit big shots from the first ball. That was in my mind, but my main aim was to get him out because his wicket at that time would have probably ended their hopes, given that only bowlers were to follow next and there was no other hard-hitter in the line-up.'
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