'Apna Ladka hai' - Ravindra Jadeja shares the incident when he met PM Narendra Modi for first time in 2010

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been out of action since September after suffering an injury during the Asia Cup. He was further ruled out of the 20-20 World Cup 2022 with Axar Patel being announced as his replacement. Enjoying his time off- the field, Jadeja recently recalled his very first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, almost a decade back, and revealed his epic reaction he gave after MS Dhoni had introduced him.

Speaking in a video posted by the Free Press Journal, the Gujarat-born cricketer revealed that it was back in 2010 when he had first met the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi was then the chief minister of Gujarat and the Indian team were in Ahmedabad for a match. When the Indian skipper Dhoni introduced Jadeja to the Chief Minister, he laughed and said, “He’s our boy”.

“I had first met him (Modi) in 2010 in Ahmedabad. He was the chief minister of Gujarat back then,” Jadeja recalled.

He further added, “We (India) had a match against South Africa in the Motera Stadium. Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni), who was our captain back then introduced me to him. Modi Sahab ne khud bola ki ‘bhai ye toh apna ladka hai, dhyaan rakhna (Modi Sahab said himself, ‘He’s our boy, take care of him)’. He said so with a laugh while being in a light mood).

“That’s when you feel…. a person of such big stature comes to you and says this personally. Ek alag si feeling aati hai. I felt really good when he said this.”

Jadeja to return on Bangladesh tour

Coming back to cricket, Ravindra Jadeja is expected to return for the Bangladesh Test series next month. Jadeja suffered a ‘freak injury’ following his participation in a ski-board activity during the Asia Cup. The all-rounder flew back to Mumbai and underwent surgery.

Jadeja has massively improved his batting in the past few years and is ranked among the top all-rounders of the world. He's played 161 ODIs, 60 Tests and 64 T20Is for India.