Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja entered politics by joining the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following in the footsteps of his wife, according to reports from India’s media.
The all-rounder’s wife, Rivaba Jadeja, a BJP member of the Jamnagar Legislative Assembly (MLA), broke the news and published pictures of the pair’s new BJP membership cards on X, the previous Twitter platform.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s membership renewal marked the start of the BJP’s “Sadasyata Abhiyan [membership drive]” on September 2, according to the post.
After becoming a member of the BJP in 2019, Rivaba was put forward for the Jamnagar assembly seat in 2022. She defeated Karshanbhai Karmur, the AAP candidate, by a margin of more than 50,000 votes to win the North constituency.
Jadeja, 35, has declared his retirement from Twenty20 international matches after India’s historic June victory over South Africa in the Twenty20 World Cup 2024.
The all-rounder posted a photo of himself clutching the T20 World Cup trophy along with an announcement of his retirement on his official Instagram account.
Since making his debut in 2009, the cricketer has played in 74 Twenty20 international matches for India. He took 54 wickets at an average of 29.85 and scored 515 runs at a strike rate of 127.16.