Jadeja calls meeting with PM an ‘absolute privilege’

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament House, accompanied by his wife Rivaba Jadeja, Gujarat’s Minister for Tribal Development, Primary, Secondary and Adult Education.

Sharing pictures from the interaction on social media, Jadeja expressed his admiration for the Prime Minister. “An absolute privilege and honour to meet and interact with Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi sir. His clarity of thought, enthusiasm, and commitment to excellence are deeply inspiring. A privilege to learn from such leadership,” Jadeja wrote on X.

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The meeting comes at a time when Jadeja continues to be one of the senior pillars of Indian cricket. On Monday, he was retained in the Elite A category of the BCCI’s central contracts for the 2025–26 season—an honour shared by only three players: Jadeja, Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

Jadeja has, however, stepped away from T20 internationals. He retired from the format after India’s triumph in the 2024 T20 World Cup, alongside Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and is therefore not part of India’s squad for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup.

The newly announced central contracts also reflect a reshuffle in the grading structure. The BCCI has scrapped the A+ category this season, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli—having retired from Test and T20I cricket—have been placed in Grade B, along with India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav.

In total, 30 players have been awarded central contracts, down from 34 last season. Grade B features 11 cricketers, while Grade C includes 16 players, including emerging batter Abhishek Sharma. Several prominent names such as Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan have missed out.

Jadeja was last seen in action during India’s recent three-match home ODI series against New Zealand, which the visitors won 2–1.