'Time chala gaya': Ravindra Jadeja's move from rockstar to elder brother

It happened at Headingley, almost unseen, in the lull between all the drama. Yashasvi Jaiswal had just shelled Harry Brook at gully, a chance that should have stuck. It was the kind of miss that lingers when a fielder is still stitching confidence together after a couple of other misses. Between overs, as captain Shubman Gill passed him, he offered a quiet, matter-of-fact gesture as if to say: 'You should have reverse-cupped it, not tried catching with fingers pointed down.'

An over later came the drinks break. Jaiswal stood alone, visibly withdrawn, his head a blur of regret and rewound technique. And then, at the end of the interval, he reached out to Ravindra Jadeja. An arm draped over the shoulder, a soft word, and together they strolled back out, quiet and side by side to their fielding spots.

That image, tender but fleeting, said everything about two different kinds of transitions. First, the one the Indian team is navigating now. Titans of the past decade have stepped aside. A new generation is sprinting in: Gill is leading, Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan have arrived in fast-forward, their stories still being written in wet ink.

And through it all, Jadeja remains - the 36-year-old who has undergone a subtler transition of his own. From rockstar to elder brother. He has outlasted the troika he once rose alongside - Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Rohit Sharma - men who helped define the previous era, who have since moved on.

It almost seemed that it wouldn't pan out this way. Three years ago, in Mohali, Jadeja played the most complete Test match of his life: a 175 not out, nine wickets - an all-round masterpiece. His form was undeniable, but so were the whispers. The knee had begun to grumble. He spent the build-up to the next match, in Bengaluru, closely monitored by physio Nitin Patel. He was trying to hold off surgery with an opportunity to take over as CSK captain in the IPL season that was approaching. There were murmurs that the knee might not hold for too long, especially for the rigours of Test cricket.

Eventually, the knee gave way at the Asia Cup. Surgery followed. Half a year gone and a T20 World Cup was missed. Careers have faded for less. But Jadeja came back like he'd never gone, taking a seven-fer on Ranji Trophy return in the heat of Chennai, and then casually pulling out a Player of the Match performance a week later against Australia in the Nagpur Test. He has remained an unshakeable presence in the team ever since.

At Edgbaston this last week, when asked if the changing guard tempted him to eye Test captaincy, he chuckled: "Woh time chala gaya." That time has passed. And yet, he's still here, adding another quiet responsibility to his all-rounder tag.

Jadeja has a case to be picked as a pure batter. On India's last tour to England in 2021-22, he was pushed up to No. 5 above Ajinkya Rahane - a nod to both his growth as a batter and the need for a left-hander in the middle. When that series resumed a year later, he even hit a hundred at Edgbaston. However, last week, he slipped back to No. 7, making way for the young Nitish Reddy to bat above him. And then, when India still teetered at 210 for 5 on a batting beauty, he helped build a 203-run stand with Gill, rescuing India, steadying them, propelling them towards a big first-innings score.

There was more to his 89 than what met the eye. India were 310 for 5 at stumps on day one and a lot of work remained to be done to bat England out of the game. The second new ball was only five overs old. Early wickets on the second morning could still derail everything, which Jadeja recognised as he set out to the ground ahead of the rest of the team to get extra batting practice against the new ball.

Later, in the second innings, he went back up to No. 6 and batted like an anchor tied to the seabed as India chased declaration. At one point, he was on 13 off 42. But again India were eyeing a target around 550 and at least 200 runs remained to be scored to shut England out of the contest.

Even with the ball, Jadeja's contributions have been more cerebral than spectacular. He didn't come into the Edgbaston Test with great form, averaging 78 from his last four Tests. The last day at Headingley was particularly chastening, bowling with the softened Dukes ball and missing his spots against Ben Duckett, who reverse-swept him with impunity.

But upon reaching Birmingham, Jadeja doubled down in the nets and got to work by asking the young left-handers in the team - Jasiwal and Sai Sudharsan - to go after him. He wasn't missing his spots against Ben Stokes this time around on the final day. He didn't end up dismissing him, but again played a part in a great little micro-moment of the final day in a famous win.

Just before lunch, with Jamie Smith on strike, Jadeja bowled a 97-second over. Fast, flat, on the rough. It allowed India one more over before the break, just enough time for Washington Sundar to trap the England captain with his big in-drifter. One tactical sprint, one wicket, one open door.

That's the thing with Jadeja now, he just keeps things ticking. The small spells, the quiet runs, the moments that hold a day together. And somehow, he is now on his fourth Test tour of England. Even Kohli didn't manage that.

In 2014, he was charging at Anderson, making a quickfire 68 at Lord's in India's famous win and celebrating like a Rajput general. In 2018, he was the craftsman, scoring a career-turning 86 at The Oval, signalling that he could bat with the best. In 2021-22, he was the enabler, hitting the rough and scuffing up the ball for reverse swing and making Jasprit Bumrah roar.

Now, in 2025, he is all of those things, and something more: the one to throw an arm around a youngster's shoulder after a dropped catch. He is the elder who stayed, the all-rounder who grew older, but never lesser.