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Ravindra Jadeja dismissed retirement rumors on Instagram after India’s win over New Zealand. Jadeja, 36, retired from T20Is but not from other formats.
It doesn’t look like Ravindra Jadeja is thinking of retirement. (PC: ICC/X , royalnavghan)
Like India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has also quashed the rumors of his possible retirement with a brief message 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 while also hitting the winning shot in the second innings.
The reports about his possible retirement have been floating around since well before the Champions Trophy. The reasons often cited are that he is 36 years old, has already retired from T20Is, India are out of the ongoing World Test Championship and the next ICC ODI event is the World Cup in 2027.
‘No unnecessary rumors, thanks,’ Jadeja wrote in a simple Instagram story, with a ‘folded hands’ and a ‘salute’ emoji.
The rumor mill was functioning even during the thrilling final. After Jadeja finished his economical 10-over spell in the first innings, senior batter Virat Kohli went to hug him. Though it was nothing extraordinary, some saw it as a sign of Kohli saying his goodbye to Jadeja after his assumed ‘last’ spell in ODIs.
The same conjectures have been made about Rohit and Kohli, too. However, both didn’t indicate anything in the post-match presentation ceremony comments. Skipper Rohit also categorically confirmed that he was not going to retire in the press conference after the final.
In either case, this was almost certainly the trio’s last Champions Trophy. The next edition is in 2029 when they’d be well over 40. Jadeja ended this edition as India’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 scalps in 15 matches.
Before the final, head coach Gautam Gambhir had explained Jadeja’s importance 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.
