“We identified him as a special talent straight away”: When Shane Warne identified Ravindra Jadeja as ‘Superstar in making’ during IPL 2008 with Rajasthan Royals

Rajasthan Royals surprised everyone by winning the inaugural edition of the IPL. Ahead of the tournament, nobody gave them a chance, but they played well above their potential in order to win the trophy by beating Chennai Super Kings in the final of the tournament.

Shane Warne was the captain of the side, and he played an integral part in the title run. Almost every player of the team said that only Warne could have done that job. Warne was not just the captain of the side, but he was allowed to take many other decisions as well regarding the team.

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The team was full of young talents, and Ravindra Jadeja was one of those talented identified by Warne. Jadeja was a part of Virat Kohli’s led 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup squad that won the tournament as well. Warne is regarded as one of the best readers of the game, and he was not wrong either about Jadeja.

When Shane Warne identified Ravindra Jadeja as ‘Superstar in making’ during IPL 2008

After losing the first match against Delhi in the first match, the next match of the Royals was against Punjab at their home venue. In that match, a young Ravindra Jadeja proved his class with the bat. The Royals were chasing a total of 167 runs, and Jadeja came out to bat in the 12th over when the team needed 68 more runs to win.

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Jadeja played a knock of 36 runs in 25 balls at a S/R of 144.00 to help his side in achieving their first win of the season. The way Jadeja played against Brett Lee impressed Warne, and he called him a “Superstar in making” after the match. Warne revealed that they identified him as a special talent.

“We identified him as a special talent straight away,” Warne was quoted by The Guardian in an interview in 2009.

“He was hitting it wherever he wanted, against bowlers of the quality of Brett Lee.”

Rajasthan Royals defeated Punjab by 6 wickets in that match, where Shane Watson played a knock of 76* in 49 balls and Warne scalped three wickets. Jadeja later went on to have a great Ranji Trophy season, and he finally made his debut for the Indian team in 2009.