Two of India’s squad’s superpowers, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, have been working with each other since 2011 and have only ever performed seven overseas Tests collectively.
While India visits, one finger spinners are assigned to command the spin attack unless the circumstances necessitate a line-up requiring both finger spinners to produce simultaneously.
As a result of the talks around India’s bowling composition, doubts have begun to surface. For example, who would lead their spin attack in conditions traditionally favourable to spin bowling?
R Ashwin was often seen to be merely a home-field powerhouse, with minimal effect on non-turning surfaces away from home. The contrast is clear, particularly considering his reputation on Indian surfaces.
Since 2010, R Jadeja has had lesser results on international tours, regularly falling short against sides loaded with left-handed batters. In terms of strategy, Jadeja differs from Ashwin. He prefers to exploit rough areas on the ground rather than relying on refinements in the air.
Well! In our GamePlan Today Talks, let us compare the test, ODI, and T20 records of Jadeja and Ashwin.
Jadeja Initial Days:
Jadeja is the twenty-first century’s Gary Sobers. Although many may disagree today, then by the moment Ravi Jadeja departs from cricket, they will undoubtedly agree.
Even though Ravi Jadeja somehow doesn’t bowl faster than Sobers, he will never get the opportunity to begin the innings as Sobers did in his earlier life.
Sobers was a brilliant close shortstop and an outfielder; Jadeja is solely an outfielder now; he is without question the best overall. But, again, Jadeja may never head the Indian team; he might retire before Virat. Therefore, Jadeja must increase his fitness and learn to avoid Sobers’s injuries.
So Ravi Jadeja’s adaptability pales compared to that of the great Sobers? He certainly does.
Today, a player’s flexibility is measured by their ability to play in various formats at the pro level, while Sobers was flexible only in the won trophies. However, even Sobers would acknowledge that Ravi Jadeja carries his own against the best cricketer in the world.
Ravi’s journey has not been easy. First, he went afoul of the IPL’s guidelines. Fortunately, he was able to recover. However, because of the competitiveness and the selector’s short-sightedness, his position in the squad was never secure.
Jadeja was dubbed a rockstar by Shane Warne. Ravi Shastri knighted Sir Ravindra Jadeja. Gary Sobers was a superstar in his own right. Queen Elizabeth also knighted him. So there you have it.
A cricketer who exudes old-world elegance and grace can only be opposed, never matched, with a modern, competitive, ambitious batsman. So as we salute 84-year-old Gary Sobers in Barbados, the globe celebrates the emergence of a new champion.
Ashwin Initial Days:
This player, who is only 33 years old, has won the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2014, was named ICC Bowler and Test Player of the Year in 2016, and was named CEAT International Bowler of the Year for the 2016–17 season. But it’s not even the whole list.
At an early age, Ravichandran, born and raised in Chennai, discovered his passion for cricket and was motivated by his father, a spin bowler at the top level.
He began as an opening batsman before progressing to a great bowler (either medium-pace or off-spin) and then an all-rounder. As a result, even after obtaining a well-paying profession, Ravichandran chose to pursue his love and devote his full attention to cricket. As a result of his choice, he quickly rose to prominence as one of India’s top young cricketers.
Jadeja vs Ashwin in Tests:
Ravindra Jadeja blew everyone away during the first Test against Sri Lanka at the PCA IS Bindra Field in Mohali, scoring an unbeaten 175 runs and taking nine wickets to assist India to win by an innings 222 runs to grab a 1-0 series lead.
Jadeja joined a select group of cricketers who have collected 150 runs in an innings while also taking five wickets in a Test match.
From July 2018, Jadeja’s hitting has improved significantly, with the southpaw also bowling impact spells. In 32 innings, Jadeja has amassed 1,174 runs for a 48.90 batting average. In addition, Jadeja has a 27.1 average with the ball and 70 wickets in 41 innings.
Notably, from his Test debut in 2012 to June 2018, Jadeja earned 29.17 with 1,196 scores in 53 innings, demonstrating his enormous improvement in all-around skill.
Ashwin became the sixth Indian bowler to reach 300 wickets in home Tests.If the 35-year-old would stay fit enough to play the longer format for another three years, he may surpass Muttiah Muralitharan’s record of 493 Test wickets at Sri Lankan grounds.
One of the rarest feats in cricket is his decisive victory of Australia in the 2014 Border-Gavaskar match.
Away from home, Ashwin has a bowling average of approximately 31, which is comparable to other current-generation elite bowlers. However, comparing a teammate’s bowling average from two generations to their scoring rate is inappropriate because the playing conditions are vastly different nowadays.
In addition, Ashwin spent most of his overseas Tests in Australia and England. Ashwin played in the World Test Championship finale, his sole neutral site match, and took two wickets every innings.
Ravi Ashwin has pitched in seven Test-playing nationalities away from home, with Australia and Sri Lanka being his best two. He’s taken 39 wickets in Australia and 38 in Sri Lanka.
He had his finest bowling effort outdoors in the West Indies, taking 7 for 83. It was against the Jason Holder-led West Indies squad at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Jadeja vs Ashwin in ODI:
Jadeja has made incredible progress when it pertains to his ODI batting statistics. Correspondingly before Manjrekar’s remarks, his hitting average and strike rate were 30 and 84.2. And since Manjrekar’s comments, Jadeja has produced 62.7 with a strike rate of 106.5.
Three of Jadeja’s finest innings as a batsman have come during this period: his 77 versus New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup Quasi, his 55 versus New Zealand in Auckland, which almost won the game for India, and his sparkling 66* versus Australia in Canberra. However, after Manjrekar’s words, Jadeja’s career as a bowler has been a shambles.
In 17 games, he has only 14 wickets at a high average of 55.6. Before Manjrekar’s remarks, Jadeja was averaging 35.9 wickets per match!
Ravichandran Ashwin possesses 151 ODI wickets and 113 ODI appearances under his belt. In the batting order, Ashwin amassed 675 runs, including a half-century.
Let’s have a look at his ODI achievements and statistics. With a rate of 32.91, Ashwin has taken 151 ODI wickets in his career. with 707 runs in ODI Career ,Ashwin averages 16.44 in ODI format including one fifty under his belt. In all formats, he is the first Indian to pick 50 wickets. Ashwin has won eight players of the Series accolades in his career.
Jadeja vs Ashwin in T20:
Following Manjrekar’s remark, Jadeja has dominated the T20s. Since then, he’s averaged 50.5 in six games, striking out close to 150 times. It includes his most outstanding T20I innings of 44* versus Australia in the current series.
He has developed into a fantastic finisher for the squad in recent years. Previous to the comments, Jadeja had a strike rate of 93.5 and a mediocre batting average of 21.76. However, even when he didn’t have the ball, Jadeja’s average was 27.45, correspondingly.
Ravichandran Ashwin is not playing regularly in a T20I match since 2017. His achievements, on the other hand, are pretty high. In the T20I game, Ashwin has played 51 games and taken 61 wickets at an outstanding average of 21.27.
Let’s examine a few of his accomplishments in the format. So far, Ashwin has taken 52 T20I wickets. In the T20WC, he is the only Indian bowler to have won three MOM awards. In the T20 World Cup, India’s best bowling performance. Indian bowler has the most rating points in T20I (765).
Wrapping Up:
As can be seen from the statistics, Jadeja and Ashwin have developed into great batters in all kinds of sports. Despite his numbers showing a dip in both tests and ODIs, he remains a threatening bowler. And, with both the batting and the bowling, his T20 abilities have vastly improved.
Jadeja and Ashwin, solid batter and a bowler with excellent fielding skills, can easily fit into most world-class teams. And he’s no longer a pick-and-choose player. We are confident that Manjrekar will concur.
GamePlan Today hopes to have a more informative blog about Jadeja and Ashwin’s top players. We will catch you in another supersport blog.