Ravindra Jadeja is the only cricketer in India’s Test squad who can force his way into the XI purely as a batter as well as a specialist bowler. Some would say, even as a fielder. He is that good anywhere in the outfield. If 3-D cricketer was a timeless classic then Jadeja would pass as its lead every time. The machismo attached to his moustache and the sword celebration after reaching a milestone adds to the cult hero that is Jadeja, the cricketer.
Jadeja is one of the rare cricketers who seldom finds himself in the headline in the lead-up to a Test match but is always talked about in detail when absent. Jadeja’s void in the Indian XI is dreaded way more than his presence is celebrated. In a way, that is good for a cricketer like him. There is way too much on his plate anyway.
In Virat Kohli and KL Rahul’s absence, he is now India’s No.5 batter in the Test series against England. When the limelight is rightly focussed on his spin-bowling partner Ravichandran Ashwin, who is set to feature in his 100th Test in the fifth and final assignment of the five-match affair against England in Dharamsala, Jadeja knows the amount of work he has to put in in all three departments to push India’s cause for a 4-1 triumph.
Like every all-rounder, does Jadeja have a favourite discipline? If India’s first training session in chilly conditions at the HPCA Stadium on Tuesday was anything go by then wouldn’t have any doubts before placing his bet on batting being Jadeja’s preferred part.
The left-hander had two long batting stints at the nets, reported The Indian Express. In between the coaches asked him to end his session. His teammates pleaded. But Jadeja was not leaving the nets. “A few more balls,” he requested and kept on batting.
Ravindra Jadeja’s outstanding all-round show in India vs England series
Long batting sessions are not unusual with Jadeja. When he gets inside the nets, it’s a hard task to get him out, a very batsman-like trait. Then again, who said Jadeja isn’t one?
In the ongoing Anthony de Mello Trophy, Jadeja is the only batter to score more than 200 runs by batting in less than six innings. He had to miss the second Test in Vizag due to a hamstring injury. In the five innings that he has batted, the left-hander has scored 217 runs at an average of 43.4. He is among only four batters to average more than 40 in this series. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal (93.57) and Shubman Gill (48.85) and England opener Zak Crawley (41) being the other three.
The century that Jadeja scored in the third Test in Rajkot, was one of the main reasons why India were able to put a sizeable total (445) on the board despite being reduced to 33/3 in the first morning of the Test match.
What about Jadeja the bowler? In the same Test, he took seven wickets, five of those in the second innings to return with the Player of the Match award. He is India’s joint-highest wicket-taker along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwin with 17 scalps.
