Ravindra Jadeja Reacts After Being Named India’s 'Most Valuable Player' Of 21st Century

India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja was named as the country’s “Most Valuable Player” (MVP) of the 21st century by Wisden. The allrounder left behind some of the biggest names in the history of the game thanks to his all round exploits on the field.

Wisden used CricViz, a detailed analysis tool in cricket to analyse his performance. Ravindra Jadeja’s MVP rating was an astounding 97.3, second only to legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and thus making him the second most valuable Test player of the 21st century.

“It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India’s spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India’s number one. After all, he’s not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 – contributing to a very high match involvement,” Cricviz’s Freddie Wilde told Wisden.

“The 31-year-old’s bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne’s and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson’s. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality,” he added.

Ravindra Jadeja reacts:

Hours after being named the MVP, Ravindra Jadeja took to Twitter to react to the news. The star allrounder thanked Wisden for the recognition before extending his gratitude to his teammates, coaches and fans for the support, writing:

“Thank you Wisden India for naming me the ‘Most Valuable Player’. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans and well wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind.”

Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans and well wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind. ???? pic.twitter.com/azj7HMFSZu

— Ravindrasinh jadeja (@imjadeja) July 1, 2020

After helping India win the U19 World Cup in 2008, Ravindra Jadeja made his debut for the senior team in 2009. So far, he has represented India in 49 Tests, 165 ODIs, 49 T20Is so far. In 2013, he helped India win the Champions Trophy and was the highest wicket-taker in the competition.

He has also helped India stay at the top of the ICC Test Rankings for more than three years. The left-arm spinner is also a former number one bowler in Tests and ODIs.

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