ICC exposes Ravindra Jadeja's awful T20I reality as Virat Kohli finishes career as a superior all-rounder

India batter Virat Kohli ended his T20I career after the India National Cricket Team won the T20 World Cup 2024.  The right-hander got a fairytale ending to his career as in his last game, the team etched history and won their second title in the T20 format.

Virat Kohli, who has been the backbone of the Indian team in the last decade, made sure that on the individual front, he ends his career on high. In his last game in Indian T20 colors, the premier batter bagged the Player of the Match and helped his team win.

Barring the final of the T20 World Cup 2024, Virat Kohli failed in the entire tournament but he made sure when it mattered the most, he stood tall for his team. The opening batter stepped up under pressure and took his team to a win against South Africa at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown Barbados.

Virat Kohli ended with a vital innings of 76 runs off 59 balls. He batted with a strike rate of around 130 and slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes in his innings. His effort with the bat powered India to a total of 176 runs on the board and won the game by 7 runs to lift their second T20 World Cup title. He also won Player of the Match for his innings.

After the match was over, he announced his retirement, and a day later, Ravindra Jadeja too made the same decision and announced his retirement in the T20Is. The all-rounder had a poor T20 World Cup 2024 as he failed to get going with the bat and ball and arguably was the weakest link in the squad.

Overall in his career, Ravindra Jadeja made decent contributions to the India team with both bat and ball. But it's fair to say that his performances in the format weren't anyway near to what has has done for the India National Cricket Team in the ODIs and the Tests.

In the latest ICC rankings for the all-rounder, what caught the attention of many was Virat Kohli was ranked ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. The batter was placed at the 79th spot with 49 ratings, while Jadeja finished at 86th with 45 points. 

Interestingly, Virat Kohli in his career didn't bowl in many matches. In the last decade, he bowled 2.4 overs and claimed one wicket but with the bat, he is the second-leading run-getter in the format. Jadeja on the other hand ended his career with 54 wickets in 74 games that he played.

Hardik Pandya becomes the new No.1 ranked T20I all-rounder 

Apart from Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, it was Indian vice-captain Hardik Pandya, who stole the limelight. The star player became the new No.1 ranked all-rounder in the T20I format. He became the first Indian to achieve this feat. This comes after his sensational performance with the bat and ball in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Hardik Pandya was one of the main reasons behind India's win in the T20 World Cup 2024. The all-rounder was on the top of his game with the bat and ball. He picked 11 wickets in the tournament and also scored 144 runs, helping the team win the title and end the title drought.