When MS Dhoni Referred Ravindra Jadeja As 'Sir' For The First Time

image-llmctg6nRavindra Jadeja revealed MS Dhoni gave him the name ‘Sir Ravindra Jadeja’ [Twitter]

Ravindra Jadeja is often affectionately referred to as "Sir Jadeja" by fans and on social media. This nickname started as a humorous meme and caught on due to his excellent cricketing skills, and his all-round abilities. It's more of a playful nickname rather than an official title or honorific.

But have you ever wondered when and why exactly people started calling him sir.

Ravindra Jadeja himself revealed that it was MS Dhoni who gave him the name ‘Sir Ravindra Jadeja’ back in 2013, when the former India captain was active on social media.

In a 2013 IPL match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), CSK required 16 runs in the last over with Jadeja and Chris Morris batting. RCB's captain, Kohli, entrusted RP Singh with the crucial over. CSK needed 2 runs off the final ball, and Jadeja, on strike, smacked a short and wide delivery to Rampaul at third man. Kohli began celebrating, but the umpire ruled it a no-ball due to RP's overstep, sparking joy in the CSK camp. As a result, MS Dhoni tweeted -

         "If you give Sir Jadeja 2 runs to score from 1 ball he will win it with the ball left."

In another tweet, MSD wrote, 

"If ever Rajni sir had to face sir Jadeja's bowling, the battle would be known as clash of the titans."  From here on, Jadeja was nicknamed sir by fans and colleagues.

However, the Saurashtra cricketer does not like being addressed as sir. 

“People should call me by my name. I hate being called sir. If someone wants to call me anything, they can refer to me as ‘Bapu’. This Sir-Var I do not like at all," Jadeja once told reporters.

Jadeja, who made his debut for the Indian team in an ODI in February 2009 against Sri Lanka, is known to be one of Dhoni’s good friends. The two have shared the dressing room both in the Indian team and in the IPL team Chennai Super Kings. Over the years, Jadeja has played a significant role in the success of CSK, which has been captained by Dhoni since the inception of the IPL in 2008.