Ravindra Jadeja, the Miser With Unyielding Control

When Hardik Pandya went down a lot of fears started running through the Indian team’s mind. With him, India potentially loses a middle-order batter, a bowler who has enough pace to rush the best of batters and a leader. He is among the category of irreplaceable players on the side. With due respect, the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah are just as valuable if not more, but replacements close enough on style of play can be found.

The batters have back-ups, and the bowlers have back-ups but what about the all-rounders? With India worried, Ravindra Jadeja was at it yet again. A bowlers short, Jadeja continued his way and was quick to bowl his ten overs. His style of plugging the ball in the exact same spot while bowling 90-second overs came into play as Jadeja enjoyed the spotlight.

He finished with figures of 2 for 38 taking his tally to seven wickets in four matches. In the games prior to this, Jadeja has been the same. He was the one who broke the game open with his spell, taking three wickets at his second home Chennai, against Australia. He went wicketless against Afghanistan but took two against Pakistan. In both games, his control, economy, and the pressure he created stood out.

His performance against Bangladesh had him lined up for the Man of the Match award. A spectacular catch and his tight bowling got him close before Virat Kohli took it with his century. Statistics though speak volumes about the value he brings, despite going unnoticed occasionally. Since July 2022 only Keshav Maharaj and Shakib Al Hasan have been more economical than him.

His recent phase has seen him as good as any specialist bowler in ODI Cricket. Jadeja’s batting and fielding are added assets, coming good when given the opportunity. His fielding alone stands out with batters often cautious of challenging Jadeja’s arm. His route back though to where he is now has been challenging. He was left out in 2017 when India looked to bring in wrist-spinners. After improving in the other departments though Jadeja became undroppable in all formats. Injuries though kept haunting him.

As a bowler too he is not the most flashy. Unlike Kuldeep or Ashwin, who have a bank of variations, Ravindra Jadeja stands steady, going against the trend in white-ball cricket. He continues to do what made him stand out in Test Cricket. Bowl stump to stump, find turn if there is any, just stick to bowling straight if there isn’t, and annoy the batters.

With his pace, he tends to get a hint of turn regardless, enough for the ball to straighten and deceive batters. No mystery involved, just relentless accuracy and a nominal gap between deliveries for batters to think. It was the same story in Pune. With no spin to work with, he led the way as Bangladesh was pulled back.

Batters in reply are left with a few options when Jadeja is on song. Batters try the sweep like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Rizwan did. With Jadeja’s pace though that can be a challenge and as a result both failed to get Jadeja off his line. He did the same against Australia, and his dismissal of Smith was a spinner’s dream. Angled in, a hint of turn and taking the off-stump is what every spinner loves to see.

Four games in, he has silently been at his elements with no sign of relenting. Flat pitches and short boundaries await though. The likes of New Zealand and England can be pretty aggressive too. With bowlers coming at him, it will be interesting to see if Ravindra Jadeja can maintain the same degree of control.