Ravindra Jadeja is one of the few men still playing in IPL 2022 who were part of the inaugural season of the tournament, back in 2008. In the first season, the Rajasthan Royals signed him as part of the Under-19 draft, on the strength of his performances for India in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, where he played a pivotal role as his country won the tournament in Malaysia.
He went on to play for the Royals for two seasons, and made a big impression for the new franchise, making 135 runs at a strike rate of 131 in the first season as the Royals won that first edition of the tournament. It remains their only title success to date. So good was his form that he made his full India debut partly on the back of it in 2009 against Sri Lanka.
However, ahead of the 2010 IPL, although the Royals made no secret of their desire to retain him, he refused to sign the new contract they put in front of him. It subsequently transpired that, at the conclusion of the previous campaign, Jadeja had begun looking for better deals and had initiated discussions with other franchises willing to pay more for his services.
This was against the Players’ Code of Conduct. Jadeja was still officially under contract to the Royals, and was only free to enter such negotiations if he had been released by the Royals first.
The IPL governing council then issued a statement that confirmed that Jadeja had met with representatives from the Mumbai Indians, and had shared with them details of his current contractual arrangements.
Jadeja was slapped with a one-year ban, with commissioner Lalit Modi saying that such indiscipline could not be tolerated. Mumbai Indians were also reprimanded for having made an illegal approach to the player.
Allowed back in 2011, Jadeja was signed by the Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The franchise lasted only one season, and he was back in the auction again for 2012. This time the Chennai Super Kings bought him and he has been with them ever since, leading them at the start of this season. However, with the team’s poor results, and his own game suffering, he relinquished the captaincy in favour of M.S. Dhoni.