After St Lucia renames its stadium after Sammy, Rajkot honours city’s legend by naming its stadium after ‘Sir Ravindra Jadeja’

Ravindra Jadeja has also scored his both triple tons at this venue and further added more glory to flat Rajkot track.

Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot shall be now called Ravindra Jadeja International Stadium. West Indies lifted the ICC World T20 title for the second time in their cricketing chronicle as they defeated England in the final at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. West Indian skipper Darren Sammy was honoured by his country St Lucia as they named the existing Beausejour Cricket Ground as the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. IPL 9: 13 ‘firsts’ in Indian Premier League this season

Following this, the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) has decided to commemorate Sir Ravindra Jadeja ’s outstanding contribution in international cricket. The stadium will now be reckoned as Sir Ravindra Jadeja International stadium. Jadeja has also scored his both triple tons at this venue and further added more glory to flat Rajkot track.

Jadeja’s legacy extends beyond cricketing logics. Having made his debut in 2009, Jadeja continues to be a promising player. The writer caught up with Niranjan Shah, the honorary secretary of SCA, who threw light on this matter. IPL 9: 11 cricketers who will be dearly missed

“Sir is the only player after Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Bill Ponsford, Walter Hammond, WG Grace, Graeme Hick and Mike Hussey, to have scored three First-Class triple hundreds. Look at Darren Sammy’s international cricket numbers and compare them with Sir’s. If Sammy deserves such honour, Sir deserves much more,” said Niranjan, whose son Jaidev Shah has a stand named after him.

Jaidev, who has managed to bag an Indian Premier League contract with Gujarat Lions ahead of the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, averages 16.34 in T20 cricket and his strike rate is 107.83. Not that he averages more in other formats (27.38 in First-Class and 21.50 in List A) but thanks to his father, he is not only minting quick bucks but also has a stand named after him.

When questioned, Niranjan reasoned out, “Isn’t my son as good as Johnson Charles?”

Champion Garba

Jadeja celebrated this occasion by going on a long drive in his Audi Q7 gifted by his fiancée’s father. And it is also believed that he has come up with his new version of Champion Dance, which will be called ‘The Champion Garba’. He has composed the song along with noted singer and Garba specialist Falguni Pathak.

While the Gujarat Lions cricketer were seen practicing at the venue, two cricketers were sulking from a distance. Skipper Suresh Raina was fazed by this disrespect while Dwayne Bravo, the composer of Champion dance was seen looking at the Champion Garba rehearsals in disbelief. He wept and called up MS Dhoni asking the Pune skipper, “When is the transfer window?”

(Suraj Choudhari, an avid cricket follower who plays the sport at club level, is a staffer with Criclife)