Ravindra Jadeja has emerged as one of India’s most reliable all-rounder in Tests over the years. In fact, he is well on course to becoming the greatest ever all-rounder for India in the longest format of the game. Time and again, the southpaw has proved his worth with both bat and ball, and it was no different in the IND vs WI 1st Test. Jadeja was named the Player of the Match for his 104-run knock and outstanding figures of 4/69 from both innings.
But given the likes of Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Irfan Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin, is Jadeja the greatest all-rounder yet? Let’s take a look.
India’s greatest all-rounder ft. Jadeja
With 3990 runs and 334 wickets to his name, Jadeja has been a force to reckon with in Tests ever since he made his debut in 2012. Prior to the IND vs WI 1st Test, the southpaw had an outstanding series in England where he amassed 516 runs and bagged 7 wickets.
Jadeja, who was initially seen as a bowling all-rounder, quietly managed to turn it around in the recent years and is now one of India’s most dependable middle-order batter in Tests. With 6 hundreds and 27 fifties to his name, he is surely the best all-rounder at the moment and rightfully occupies the number 1 spot in the ICC rankings.
Among Dev, Shastri, Irfan, Ashwin and Jadeja, Kapil surely has better numbers – both in terms of wickets and runs. However, Jadeja has played lesser games than Dev and has a better average as a batter. Take a look at how these above mentioned all-rounders have fared in their Test career.
| Name | Matches | Runs | Batting average | Wickets | Bowling average |
| Kapil Dev | 131 | 5248 | 31.05 | 434 | 29.64 |
| Ravi Shastri | 80 | 3830 | 35.79 | 151 | 40.96 |
| Irfan Pathan | 29 | 1105 | 31.57 | 100 | 32.26 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 106 | 3503 | 25.75 | 537 | 24.00 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 86 | 3990 | 38.73 | 334 | 25.07 |
It is evident from the above list that Jadeja boasts of a superior batting average as an all-rounder in comparision with the others. While he may not surpass Kapil’s tally, both in terms of runs and wickets since he has fewer years left and surely won’t play another 50 matches, he is indeed the greatest all-rounder for India in the modern era.
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