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The India National Cricket Team was unbeatable in the Test matches in the subcontinent when the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were at their prime. The spin duo created havoc in the traditional format of the game and won several matches for the Men in Blue. Now R Ashwin has made some controversial comments about his former spin partner.
R Ashwin has already retired from international cricket. However, Jadeja continues to play and is a regular in the Test side, but is not a regular in ODI cricket. The spin duo played 58 Tests together, combining for 587 wickets. They were lethal under the leadership of MS Dhoni and later Virat Kohli, despite having different skill sets.
"I know his limitations well": R Ashwin on Ravindra Jadeja's bowling nature
While speaking on the podcast show Baith & Bol with Aakash Chopra, Ashwin stated that he knows about Ravindra Jadeja’s limitations with the ball and that it is a rare case that, despite having limitations, he turned out to be one of the greatest spin bowling all-rounders in world cricket. He also revealed that Jadeja had no skill to dismiss a batter.
"I know his limitations well," Ashwin said in a podcast show Baith & Bol with Aakash Chopra. "Very few can bring him out of those limitations. I was one of them. His biggest strength: naturally gifted. If he has a bad day, you just tell him your effort is fine; tomorrow will be better. His action was simple, release point simple, tappa so good—he doesn’t have to think."
"He didn’t know how to dismiss batsmen—I’m saying he absolutely didn’t know. But his skill to choke batsmen was intertwined with his skill. You can’t sweep him—trajectory is low. You can’t step out—airspeed is good. You can’t play defense without doubting if the ball would remain the same."
"My respect for Jadeja doubled": R Ashwin has immense respect for Ravindra Jadeja's skill set
After R Ashwin got to know about Ravindra Jadeja’s biggest strength choking the batter, which is not an easy skill set, he had great respect for him. Jadeja could turn the ball at high speed, which is also a rare aspect of his game, as it is not an easy task to do. He has been a phenomenal cricketer with amazing fielding and batting abilities.
"When I understood that, my respect for Jadeja doubled—what he does is not easy. I have seen many skillful spinners, but the repetitive nature- keeping the ball there at the same speed is very difficult. Spinning the ball at that speed is not easy," he said.
"A person who doesn’t experiment in the nets, but if you give him the ball, he’ll land on tappa, good speed, rotation, takes catches in the field, runs like a bullet, moves like silk, connects every second direct hit, has every batting shot, power, skill, defense against spinners, developed against fast bowlers, scored 300 in Ranji Trophy."
"It was all natural! However much we’d work hard to get close to him, his skill was still bigger. I often thought if I had that skill, I’d rule the world. But it is what it is. He was so skillful that he didn’t have to think much."
Ravindra Jadeja's Test career
Ravindra Jadeja has been the No.1 Test all-rounder for four years until Marco Jansen replaced him last month. The veteran spinner has been a match-winner for the side across formats, and now, after retiring from T20Is, he only features in ODIs and Tests, with more regular cricket in the longest format.
Jaddu has played 91 Test matches for the Men in Blue and picked 356 Test wickets and remains one of the leading wicket-takers for the side in the oldest format.
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