Asia Cup: 'There was a rumour that I had died,' says Ravindra Jadeja

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has said there was a "rumour" that he had died and has decided to not pay attention to all the chatter around him in the cricket fraternity.

In a pre-match conference ahead of India's Asia Cup fixture against Hong Kong, Jadeja also spoke about reports that suggested he had been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a rib injury that had forced him to withdraw from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

"You have mentioned a very minor example (of a rumour) that I won't be available for the World Cup. In between, there was a rumour that I had died. It can't get bigger than this. I don't think about all these (rumours). I focus on going to the ground, playing and performing well for the country," Jadeja said on Tuesday.

"I want to improve on whatever is needed to perform well for my team. That's it. Day in and day out, I practice bowling, batting and fielding," the all-rounder added.

The rumours began after his forgettable IPL 2022 campaign with Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Just two days before the tournament, CSK appointed Jadeja their new captain, but he stepped down midway through the tournament, handing over the reigns back to MS Dhoni.

Jadeja played a vital role in India's five-wicket victory over Pakistan in their opening fixture of Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday. He gave away just 11 runs in two overs with the ball and followed that with an important 35 off 29 deliveries in India's successful chase.

Asia Cup: We will not take Hong Kong lightly, says Jadeja

Speaking about India's clash with Hong Kong, which is on Wednesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Jadeja said that the team was going into the game with a "positive mindset" and will not take the associate side "lightly".

"We are going to play against Hong Kong with a positive mindset and we will not take them lightly. On a given day, anything can happen in T20Is. We will give our best and play positively. We will think too far ahead until the World Cup. We are here, we will look to play against Hong Kong. After that, we will see which team we will play against," Jadeja added.

Even though the pacers claimed all the wickets against Pakistan, Jadeja said the spinners bowled well too.

"Spinners also contributed. But sometimes it happens that you bowl well and you do not get wickets but fast bowlers do not bowl that well but get wickets. T20I is like that. The pacers get wickets on a full toss sometimes. Everyone bowled well and pacers gave us wickets when we needed them. Hardik Pandya gave us breakthroughs, then Bhuvneshwar took two in an over.

"Sometimes, left-arm spinners and leg spinners are bowling, so sending left-handed batters is easy and they can take chances. That is why I was promoted. We had seen their (Pakistan) playing XI, they had a left-arm spinner and leg spinner. So I was aware that I could face this situation. I prepared myself mentally accordingly. Luckily, I went and my knock was crucial," Jadeja added further.