As Ravindra Jadeja brought up his second Test century, the on-air commentary made a mention of the 'Rockstar' nickname given to him by legendary leg-spin great Shane Warne during the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. It was quite ironic that a day after Warne`s sudden demise at the age of 52, Jadeja raced to his century, eventually ending up unbeaten at a career-best 175.
Everything about Jadeja`s mammoth knock had the feel of a Rockstar. The ease with which he reached his fifty, solid defence mixed with lovely shots travelling off his bat to the boundary rope, his involvement in three 100-plus stand with Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami, Jadeja`s knock reiterated his rockstar abilities Warne had said in 2008.
Here's how Twitter reacted to Jadeja hitting a hundred and giving a tribute to Shane Warne:
Ravindra Jadeja gets to his century. Devastated that his Rajasthan Royals captain is not around to congratulate the man he christened 'Rockstar Jadeja.'
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) March 5, 2022
102*(166) - Rockstar's royal tribute to Shane Warne!_#INDvSL #RavindraJadeja pic.twitter.com/O5s4rQhMUJ
— Whistle Podu Army _ - CSK Fan Club (@CSKFansOfficial) March 5, 2022
Bola tha na, Rockstar #Jadeja rukega nahi! _#TeamIndia declare their innings at 5_7_4_/8_! Can the bowlers provide the hosts a healthy first innings lead?#BelieveInBlue #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/keAq2L0Wj1
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 5, 2022
Rajasthan Royals picked ravindra Jadeja in 2008.
In the Under-19 World Cup, Jadeja had got 10 wickets but faced only 38 balls.
In IPL 2008, Jadeja played 14 matches but bowled only 13 balls.
His captain/coach identified a future batting star.
He labelled him a rockstar. pic.twitter.com/OtURIZErLf
— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) March 5, 2022
When Ravindra Jadeja reaches his Hundred he remembering Shane Warne that time. pic.twitter.com/UH5Rm9qn0N
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) March 5, 2022
In 2017, Jadeja, quoted as saying in Sportstar, had spoken about his brush with Warne and the `rockstar` term coined for him in 2008. "Then I didn`t know what rockstar meant. When I met Shane Warne for the first time, I didn`t know he was such a great bowler in Test cricket. He used to call me `rockstar`, and I used to wonder that I don`t sing songs, nor do I do anything... then why he`s calling me rockstar? "I just asked one of my friends why he is calling me `rockstar`. He said that was probably because I put too much zinc on my face. Well, all I can say is I kept working hard on my game and kept improving my skills, whether it was bowling or batting.`" Though it took time for Jadeja to prove Warne right on the rockstar front and eventually did it on a fine Saturday morning against Sri Lanka, cricket`s biggest showman must be one pleased soul in the heaven on being proved right. With IANS inputs
