Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir said that Ravindra Jadeja is turning himself into a genuine all-rounder for the Indian cricket team. Jadeja remained undefeated on 175 against Sri Lanka on the second day of the first Test at the PCA stadium in Mohali on Saturday.
Over the years, Jadeja is well recognised as a spin bowler who can bowl quickly and get breakthroughs for the team at crucial junctures. Jadeja’s batting skills were always overshadowed by his ability to turn the ball and his excellent fielding.
In the T20I series against Sri Lanka, Jadeja scored 70 runs in three innings at an impressive strike rate of 189.19. He smashed 45 off 18 balls in the second T20I match in Dharamshala as India chased 184 with 2.5 overs to spare.
Ravindra Jadeja is becoming the genuine all-rounder we talk about: Gautam Gambhir
Jadeja has snapped 421 international wickets across all formats, 233 of them have been achieved in the traditional format. Gambhir said Jadeja’s contribution with the bat in recent years has made the Saurashtra player look like a genuine all-rounder.
“I believe Ravindra Jadeja is becoming the genuine all-rounder we talk about. There was no doubt that he had the hitting ability in T20 cricket and that he can contribute in ODI cricket,” Gambhir told Star Sports.
“The way he has contributed with the bat – whether it was England, Australia or now India – it is a great sign for Indian cricket, a genuine all-rounder who can bat at No. 7 and along with that he has more than 200 wickets in Tests,” he added.
Ravindra Jadeja breaks Kapil Dev’s 36-year-old record
In the course of his breathtaking innings against Sri Lanka in the first innings, Jadeja went on to shatter the record of World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, who scored 163 against the same opposition in the Kanpur Test in 1986 while batting at No.7. The left-handed batter, too, batted in the same position to score the most runs for India at No.7 in Test cricket.