Jadeja presents case, verdict likely today

Instead of wearing the gold and blue jersey of the Rajasthan Royals, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja arrived at the Cricket Centre, the BCCI headquarters, in formal clothing, reports HT Correspondents.

Instead of wearing the gold and blue jersey of the Rajasthan Royals, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja arrived at the Cricket Centre, the BCCI headquarters, in formal clothing.

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The Saurashtra youngster hasn’t been able to join his ‘original’ team as the IPL governing council banned him for a year for negotiating a better contract with the Mumbai Indians bypassing the Royals.

On Thursday, Jadeja meant business.

He presented his case to BCCI vice-president, Arun Jaitley, and IPL chief operating officer, Sundar Raman, at a hearing that lasted more than three hours. While Sean Morris, chief executive officer, represented the Royals, Mumbai Indians, accused of “attempting to poach” Jadeja, were represented by Nikhil Meswani, executive director, Reliance Industries Limited.

While IPL officials remained tight-lipped about the verdict, it has learnt that the final decision will be announced on Friday. It won’t be surprising if Jadeja’s ban is reduced to seven matches and MI walk away with a caution.

Though Morris denied to spell out what went on during the hearing, asked if Jadeja would play on Friday against the Deccan Chargers, he replied, “We are currently preparing with the best available squad that we have for Friday’s game, but it’s not impossible that Jadeja might not play for the Royals. But that we will get to know by Friday.”