Ravindra Jadeja

One of the modern-day great all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja is the real definition of a '3D' player, who was a part of the 2008 World Cup-winning Indian U19 cricket team under the captaincy of Virat Kohli.

Jadeja has been an enigma right since his advent in international cricket. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka on 8 February 2009 and scored an unbeaten 60 off 77 balls. 

In March 2017, he became the top-ranked bowler in the world leaving behind Ravichandran Ashwin who owned the position for a long time.

Jadeja’s IPL career has been quite lucrative till now as he was bought for $2 million by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the 2012 IPL Players Auction, making him the most expensive player of the year's auction. 'Jaddu' has always been MS Dhoni’s go-to man as his presence gives Dhoni the extra cushion of playing an additional batsman if needed.

The Saurashtra cricketer went from strength to strength in 2013. The Jamnagar-born played a stellar role when India won the 2013 Champions Trophy, with 12 wickets and 80 runs without being dismissed at a strike rate of 148. His 25-ball 33* and 2 for 24 won him the Man of the Match award in the final.

 He lost form in 2015 and was sent back to domestic cricket. So he responded with 215 runs and 38 wickets including three 10-wicket hauls in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy, which dazzled the national selectors yet again.

There was no stopping him after that as he roared back into the side with 23 Test wickets. However, Jadeja’s career reached another dimension in the long home season of 2016-17 as he scored 556 runs and took 71 wickets in just 13 Test matches. 

He dismissed Alastair Cook 6 times in 5 Tests during the season. And against England at Chennai, Jadeja became the first to score a fifty, take 10 wickets, and hold 4 catches in the same Test. 

As the series went on, he emerged from the shadows of Ashwin. Towards the end of the season, he scaled the No. 1 spot in ICC rankings.

Injuries to Hardik Pandya gave a new lease of life to Ravindra Jadeja's white-ball career in 2018 and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands. One of the finest all-rounders, Jadeja was a crucial member of the Indian 2019 ODI World Cup side and showed intent in every game he played for the team. 

The 2021 season of IPL saw Jadeja smash 37 runs in a single over of the purple cap holder, Harshal Patel against RCB. 

In the bowling department, he took the invaluable scalps of Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and AB de Villiers in a single match. His contribution to the Indian national team in all formats has earned him a special place in the hearts of cricket fans.

Jadeja was a part of the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup but unfortunately was ruled out due to a knee injury. He stormed back in the Border Gavaskar Trophy and became the fastest player to get 250 wickets and score 2500+ runs in Test cricket.

In IPL 2023, he played under MS Dhoni as tension surrounded what transpired last year when CSK were going through a torrid time and the southpaw had to relinquish his captaincy before getting ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.

Although Jadeja performed brilliantly with the ball in IPL 2023, taking 20 wickets at an economy of 7.56, he came under scrutiny for his batting. But when it mattered the most, he delivered, sending the ball for a four and six in the last two balls of the final of the competition against Gujarat Titans to script a famous triumph for the Yellow Army.

He was decent at best in the WTC 2021-23 final against Australia, contributing both with bat and ball.

As a bowler, Jadeja had a terrific ODI World Cup 2023. Not only was he economical, he kept himself among the wickets consistently, finishing the tournament with 16 scalps against his name.

(As of May 2024)