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Ravindra Jadeja has opened up about a difficult phase early in his India career, revealing how repeatedly being pushed down the batting order affected his confidence. Despite arriving in the national team with a strong domestic batting record, Jadeja often found himself batting at No. 8 or 9, leaving him questioning whether the team trusted his ability with the bat.

Jadeja's No. 4 Dream Took A Different Turn

Jadeja said he had always believed he could score heavily, particularly after producing strong numbers in domestic cricket.

During his Ranji Trophy career, the left-hander had averaged more than 60, while also putting together impressive performances in other first-class competitions.

That gave him the confidence that he could contribute significantly with the bat if given a proper opportunity.

However, his experience in the Indian team was very different.

Speaking to Sanjay Manjrekar on Sony Sports Network during the rain interruption in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Jadeja explained how he struggled to get the batting position he expected.

“Somewhere, I had that belief that I had that ability. But sometimes what happens is that you come into the Indian team and you don't get that batting number.”

‘My Confidence Was Literally Disturbed’

Jadeja revealed that he sometimes had to bat as low as No. 8 or 9, even going in after Ravichandran Ashwin.

For a player who had arrived with considerable confidence in his batting, repeatedly watching bowlers prepare to bat ahead of him became mentally difficult.

“Sometimes the situation is such that I have batted at numbers 8 and 9 as well. So, when you are sitting in the dressing room with your pads on, next to you, a fast bowler is selecting a ball. Seeing all those things, my morale and confidence would go down.”

Jadeja said the situation created doubts even though he still wanted to make an impact whenever his opportunity arrived.

“Sometimes you think to yourself, ‘I have to go and score runs.’”

The all-rounder admitted that seeing a fast bowler prepare to bat while he waited in the dressing room made him question his standing in the team.

“Because of all those things, my confidence was literally disturbed. I would think, ‘Oh man, what is this? The team doesn't even have confidence in me?’”

Jadeja added that his early years in the Indian team involved several instances of batting very low in the order, including going in after Ashwin.

“So, I have seen that in my early days, I didn't get that number. Very low; many times I even went in to bat below Ashwin. So somewhere, all those things disturbed me.”

Jadeja Eventually Became A Key India All-Rounder

Jadeja gradually developed into one of India's most dependable all-rounders, contributing consistently with both bat and ball across formats.

He retired from T20I cricket in 2024 but has continued to play a major role for India in Test and ODI cricket.

His reflections offer an insight into the confidence issues he faced before eventually establishing himself as one of the most important all-rounders in Indian cricket.