SATIRE: Border-Gavaskar trophy to be renamed as Jadeja-Jadeja trophy

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written in jest purely for humour purposes and is not meant to offend anyone. Please read with a pinch of salt.

Coming soon to a cricket ground near you – The newly-renamed Jadeja-Jadeja trophy! (Engravings still to be made)

March 25th, 2013 is a day that no Indian can forget. The historical Border-Gavaskar trophy, which is named after the two legends of India and Australia, was renamed as the “Jadeja-Jadeja” trophy yesterday. The decision to make this move, which was taken at a joint meeting of representatives from both the boards and convened by the BCCI president, has left almost the whole cricketing world in awe and confusion. This is the first time in the history of cricket that the same legend’s name is used twice for a trophy of a bilateral series. However, BCCI chairman N Srinivasan was pretty casual when the press approached him to seek the reason behind such a change. He said, “Normally while naming a bilateral series, we need to consider legendary players from both the sides who have contributed greatly to the cricketing world. Also, the players chosen will have normally abdicated all forms of cricket. But on this instance, we were compelled to make an aberration owing to the fact that the legend’s name that surfaced was that of Sir Ravindra Jadeja.”

It is also said that the Australian representatives were flabbergasted once the name came up and their heads suddenly hung down in shame. “We could not find a name of a similar stature; not only in the present team, which is obvious, but also in the entire Australian cricketing history. One cannot find the talent of Sir Ravindra Jadeja everywhere. India is really lucky to have this gem,” said the Cricket Australia spokesperson who was a part of its representation. However, the decision to change the trophy’s name was much awaited as many generations of great cricketers has passed by since the time of Border and Gavaskar. Many expected the names of the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to be the ones that would succeed Border’s and Gavaskar’s. When asked for his response to this unprecedented move, Ponting lashed out at Tendulkar saying, “Had he retired like everyone else, both our names would be on the trophy. Now as the name is that of Sir Jadeja, I do not see my name on it for the next hundred years at least.”

Also, this move makes Sir Jadeja the only player on the planet to be still playing and having a trophy named after himself when India tour Australia four years later. The Australian representation is said to have tried very hard to push a name from their current squad. The closest name that surfaced was Micheal Clarke’s; but ts Sir Jadeja had dismissed him in almost all the innings, the Australian contingent immediately cancelled out his name off the list. After this, the Australian representatives are believed to have felt too ashamed to mention the other names they had in mind, and were forced to accede to the proposal by BCCI. “Anyway, Sir Ravindra Jadeja’s greatness lies in the fact that he plays for the opposition too sometimes, while batting. So the Australians can count him as have being played for them as well. This is one of those talents which makes him an all time great,” said a BCCI official, who requested anonymity. Former cricketer Ravi Shastri has, as always, appreciated the move by the BCCI : “As far as this part of the world is concerned, there are many great cricketers, many legends, many century scorers and saviours Also, people worship many gods here, but there is and can be only one Sir Jadeja.” When asked if he, by any slightest chance, belonged to any of the groups he mentioned, Ravi Shastri got furious and ended the interview immediately.

Other that various statements given out at press conferences, many players and columnists have tweeted as soon as this decision of the BCCI came to light. Saurav Ganguly tweeted saying: “This is a memorable moment for him. However, I won’t consider him a great player till he performs well in overseas conditions. He must develop the ability to face short balls, which was my dream and remains that way till date. Also, he must concentrate more on his batting and fielding, and I wish to train him in the latter.” Cricket commentator and columnist Harsha Bhogle too has showered accolades on Sir Jadeja in his tweet : “And Sir Jadeja gets the honour he deserves. He has now given me a reason now to change my hairstyle again. Just love his hairstyle. I believe in Sir Jadeja.”

We all believe in Sir Jadeja

A team of journalists had visited Sir Jadeja’s house to interview him regarding this sudden turn of events. “It was such a pleasant shock to me. I could not believe it when I read it for the first time. I was under the impression that it was just another Sportskeeda humor article written about me,” he said. When asked whether this change would affect the team, Sir Jadeja gave a witty response with a laugh: “Which team are you talking about? Yes, the Australian team will definitely be affected. It might impact their performances in our upcoming clashes against us. I am eagerly looking forward to the Australian tour. I am confident about my talent and will surely clinch the man of the series trophy, as both Ashwin and Ohja cannot get rank turners there.” Also, he said that he is contemplating about training Suresh Raina (if he ever gets a chance to play) regarding handling short pitch deliveries down under.

Along with praises for the decision made, the BCCI has also received harsh criticism from many cricket experts who felt that the batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s name had to be pushed forward. But the master blaster sees the situation in an entirely different way. “Sir Jadeja truly deserved this honour. Although I must admit I was a bit disappointed, I would love to see the positive side of this. I think it is a disguised message for me from the BCCI asking me not to hang my boots in the near future!” said Sachin Tendulkar, when asked about the matter while returning from his Rajya Sabha session. The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was however unavailable. Sources reported that he has flown to Tirupati to seek Lord Srinivasan’s blessings so that his team Chennai Super Kings manage to reach the IPL final yet again. But we all know that the lord has already bestowed his blessings on the team for two more years at least – in the form of Sir Ravindra Jadeja.