Ravindra Jadeja shut down rumors about his possible retirement reminiscent of India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday with a short post on Instagram on Monday.
India beat New Zealand by four wickets in the 2025 Champions Trophy final and Jadeja took the important wicket of Tom Latham, hitting the winning shot in the second innings.
Rumors about his possible retirement have been in circulation long before the Champions Trophy. The rationale giving rise to these claims is that he is already 36 years old, has pulled the plug on T20Is, India is out of the current World Test Championship and the next ICC ODI event in line is for the World Cup 2027.
“Don’t bother with any unnecessary rumors,” Jadeja posted on a simple Instagram story, tagging emojis of a pair of folded hands and a salute.
The same going-around theories were in play even during the nail-biting final. After Jadeja’d economical 10-over spell in the first innings, senior batter Virat Kohli went to him and gave him a hug. While that moment was hardly anything unusual, some perceived that as a signal of Kohli bidding farewell to Jadeja after what was assumed to be his ‘last’ spell of ODIs.
Such hypotheses have also been entertained concerning Rohit and Kohli. But neither of them gave indications during their comments in the post-match presentation ceremony. Captain Rohit also firmly stated in the press conference after the final that he is not retiring.
In any case, it was essentially trio’s last Champions Trophy. The next one is in 2029, where they would be way past 40. Jadeja finished as India’s leading wicket-taker in this tournament, with 21 scalps in 15 matches.
Before the final, head coach Gautam Gambhir elaborated on Jadeja’s place in the team.
“I’ve always felt that Ravindra Jadeja has always gone under the radar I think he’s someone who we don’t speak highly about. See what he’s done for Indian cricket. Be it Test format, be it T20I format or in 50-over format. I think he’s very important to Indian cricket and what he’s done. Not just with the bat or ball, in the field as well. He’s, I think, one of the top all-rounders going around in world cricket. We, in the dressing room, know the value of Ravindra Jadeja. We feel that the importance of Ravindra Jadeja is what it is in the dressing room and not what happens outside the dressing room,” Gambhir said.
