India's Ravindra Jadeja plays a shot on the first day of the first cricket test match between India and Bangladesh, in Chennai, India. (AP)In his 73 Tests, Jadeja has more wickets than the great Bishan Singh Bedi and his batting average is close to that of Ajinkya Rahane and MS Dhoni. His incredible international red-ball numbers – 299 wickets, 36.72 batting average – make him a one-of-a-kind cricketer. He is an equally-exceptional white-ball player and probably the sharpest fielder ever.
So why is Ravindra Jadeja, despite his incredible body of work, India’s most underrated cricketer ever? The answer to the question doesn’t need a high-level probe or a PhD thesis. It requires urgent soul-searching.
It’s part of a worrying trend that points to an ugly truth – the cricketing world’s biggest fan base doesn’t really get cricket. The blame rests with an ecosystem that can’t look beyond a couple of superstars and a hype-machinery that values marketability over skills. It’s a travesty that India talks more about Jadeja’s fielding and doesn’t get hyperbolic about his skill that makes him the greatest all-format all-rounder the nation has produced.
Wasn’t that Kapil Dev? Statistically, it’s a big no. Jadeja in his 72 Tests has a batting and bowling average of 36.14 and 24.13. The corresponding numbers of the pace legend at the same stage of his career were 29.83 and 28.47.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja plays a shot during the first day of the first test cricket match between India and Bangladesh, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai. (PTI)
The India-Bangladesh Test was the classic example of how Jadeja’s efforts often go unnoticed or get overshadowed. He brought India back in the game with a crucial knock but R Ashwin scored a hundred and deservingly got the limelight. Jadeja’s unbeaten 86 ended up in the 8th-9th para of most match-reports.
When bowling, in the first innings, he took wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das when they were starting a dangerous partnership. Bumrah would take 4 wickets and Jadeja was back to his home – the 8th-9th para. In the second innings, he got three wickets but Ashwin had six. Same again. This has been the story of Jadeja’s life.
It is not that his performances are under-appreciated but the praise lacks the gravitas it deserves. The Chennai effort, at best, is as a late-order fightback. Not a defiant counter attack and act of valour. Jadeja innings are called gritty and dogged, adjectives like magical are reserved for those who bat higher up the order.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Bangladesh’s Litton Das on the second day of the first test cricket match between India and Bangladesh, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai. (PTI)
Coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma – known for their inspired decisions – should give a serious thought to sending Jadeja in the Top 5. In the last few years, Jadeja has repeatedly shown that he is a better player of spin than most middle-order batsmen – especially KL Rahul. Compare the way they dealt with the Bangladesh spinners. Unsure about the length of the ball, failing to read the turn; Rahul was caught at forward short leg. Jadeja, on the other hand, read the flight of the ball perfectly. He was stepping out regally, meeting the ball on the bounce and also driving straight.
Jadeja has made a habit of bailing India out of trouble but he still is not Mr Dependable. He isn’t even seen as a mentor, role model or a leader. Rarely do young Indian spinners speak about him. It seems those outside India appreciate him more.
In 2021, Australia and Queensland left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, after a game against South Australia where he got a bagful of wickets, got the nickname ‘Jaddu’. Kuhnemann was over the moon, he was a die-hard Jadeja fan. When picked for the Border Gavaskar Trophy series in India, the ‘Jaddu from Australia’ hoped to meet the OG. Nathan Lyon arranged the meeting. “It was probably about 15 minutes, he [Jadeja] was just giving me some awesome tips,” Kuhnemann would later say.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his half century during the first day of the first test cricket match between India and Bangladesh, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (PTI)
Another Aussie, left-arm spinner, Ashton Agar too calls himself a Jadeja fan. In 2020 he visited India for a three-match ODI series. He was blown away after meeting Jadeja. “He’s an absolute rockstar: smacks them, gun fielder, and spins the ball. When he’s batting he has a really positive attitude, and he takes that attitude into the field as well,” he said.
Rockstar is also what Shane Warne had called him during the inaugural IPL edition when Rajasthan Royals won the trophy. The Indian fans call him Sir – it was a title Jadeja hates. It was an inside CSK joke that MS Dhoni insensitively made public. The fans picked it and soon Jadeja was the subject of a million memes. It is high-time, India takes Jadeja and his skills seriously.
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