The man with 323 wickets and 3370 runs in the longest format of the game never thought he could be a Test cricketer and instead believed white-ball cricket was his forte.

That’s the story of India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who looked back at his younger days in the game while speaking on a podcast hosted by long-time spin partner Ravichandran Ashwin.

“When I started, I didn’t realise that I will play this many games for India in Test cricket. I always believed white ball was my forte and wanted to establish myself there,” Jadeja said.

“I used to feel that Test cricket is a little long as well. Only very sincere players can play for it. This was my mindset initially.”

The 36-year-old, who is a part of the England-bound India Test squad, told Ashwin that his journey in cricket has been shaped by “two Mahendras” — childhood coach Mahendra Singh Chauhan and former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

“I started playing in Jamnagar, at a ground called ‘Cricket Bungalow’, at the age of 8-9. My coach, who is still training at the same ground, is also from Bihar and his name is Mahendra Singh Chauhan. I have told this to Mahibhai as well that my cricket journey is between two Mahendra’s — Mahendra Singh Chauhan & Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” Jadeja said.

Jadeja credited Chauhan, a former police officer, for his rise from an early age.

“He used to be a police officer, his mindset was that a sportsperson should be at the peak of his fitness. He used to believe that batting and bowling can be managed, but one has to run a lot. My fitness level and fielding skills can be attributed to me running 15-20km around Jamnagar,” he said.

Asked to describe Dhoni in one word, Jadeja responded: “There is no one word to describe his greatness. He is on top of everyone.”

Speaking about Virat Kohli, another Test captain under whom Jadeja played, the left-arm spinner said that Kohli’s aggressive stance made him stand out in the crowd.

“It was his (Kohli’s) positive approach — especially in Tests... The special thing about Virat is that he always wanted the team to pick 20 wickets in a Test match, so he never gives up at all. Be it a three-hour session or 45 overs left, he would still want to pick up all 10 wickets of the opposition,” Jadeja observed.

Does he have any captaincy ambitions for himself? “Yes, definitely! Over the years, I have played under different captains. I know the mindset of every single captain whom I have played under and I also understand what players need and their mindset.”

However, Jadeja’s stint as the CSK captain was not a memorable one, with the franchise taking away the powers from him midway into the season.