Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy final against New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, March 9. However, the Saurashtra all-rounder was already in the news before the iconic moment as a gesture from Virat Kohli during the first innings sparked speculations about his potential retirement.
The incident happened after Jadeja finished his spell of bowling, conceding just 30 runs in his 10 overs and picking up the important wicket of Tom Latham. Kohli rushed towards Jadeja and hugged his long-time friend, leading to discussions whether this was the all-rounder’s final appearance in white-ball cricket.
Jadeja retired from T20I cricket last year along with Kohli and Rohit Sharma after they helped India win the T20 World Cup. In the second innings, of the Champions Trophy final, Jadeja walked out to bat when India needed just 11 runs to win, with 15 balls left in the bank. He remained unbeaten on nine off six balls, finishing the run-chase with a boundary through the square leg.
As the fireworks went off and Jadeja pointed to the name on the back of his jersey, cricket enthusiasts were wondering whether it was his last appearance in international cricket. However, Jadeja gave an interview to Harsha Bhogle after the match where he spoke about the game and much more but didn’t mention anything about his retirement.
“My batting number is such that I’m either a hero or a zero at the end of the game. Luckily KL and Hardik did well in that partnership, them scoring runs was a game-changing moment. The wicket wasn’t easy going into batting at first, it’s an important tournament, playing for India and winning the Champions Trophy for the country is big, you do regret when you don’t be part of winning teams after having played for so many years. But I’m lucky that I’ve managed to be fit enough and performed at the highest level in winning the two tournaments, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy now,” Jadeja said after the match.
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So, Jadeja didn’t announce his retirement after the match and Kohli’s hug seems to have been his way of congratulating the 36-year-old for his economical spell.
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