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Ravindra Jadeja is the only cricketer in the Indian Test team who can make his way into the XI solely as a batsman and a specialist bowler. Some would say, even as a gardener. He’s that good anywhere in the outfield. If The 3-D Cricketer was a timeless classic, then Jadeja would pass as the protagonist throughout. The machismo associated with his mustache and the sword celebration after reaching a milestone add to the cult hero that is Jadeja, the cricketer.
Jadeja is one of the few cricketers who rarely makes headlines before a Test match but is always talked about in detail when he is away. Jadeja’s void in the Indian XI is much more feared than his presence is celebrated. In a way, that’s good for a cricketer like him. There’s too much on his plate anyway.
In the absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, he is now India’s No. 5 batsman in the Test series against England. When the spotlight rightly turns to his bowling partner Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be playing in his 100th Test in the fifth and final task of the five-match match against England in Dharamsala, Jadeja knows the amount of work he has to do. in all three departments to boost India’s cause and achieve a 4-1 win.
Like all off-roaders, does Jadeja have a favorite discipline? If India’s first training session in cold conditions at the HPCA Stadium on Tuesday was anything to go by, then I would have no hesitation before betting on batting being Jadeja’s preferred part.
The left-hander had two long batting spells in the nets, The Indian Express reported. Meanwhile, the coaches asked him to end his session. His companions pleaded. But Jadeja did not abandon the networks. “A few more balls,” he asked and continued batting.
Ravindra Jadeja’s outstanding all-round performance in India vs England series
Long batting sessions are not unusual with Jadeja. When he gets into the nets, it is a difficult task to get him out, a very characteristic trait of a batsman. Then again, who said Jadeja isn’t?
In the ongoing Anthony de Mello Trophy, Jadeja is the only batsman to score more than 200 runs 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 four batsmen to average over 40 in this series. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal (93.57) and Shubman Gill (48.85) and England opener Zak Crawley (41) are the other three.
The century that Jadeja scored in the third Test in Rajkot was one of the main reasons why India was able to put up a sizeable total (445) on the board despite being reduced to 33/3 on the first morning of the Test match.
What about Jadeja, the bowler? In the same Test, she took seven wickets, five of them in the second innings to return with the Player of the Match award. She is India’s highest wicket-taker along with Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwin with 17 scalps.