Who is a Better All-Rounder? Hardik Pandya or Ravindra Jadeja

When we talk about Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja together, we recall the Champions Trophy final. Pandya had given India a ray of hope with his blistering batting. However, when the fire was just starting to take down Pakistan’s home, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a bucketful of water and poured it over Hardik Pandya, to end India’s hope. However, we are not going to talk about that incident here.

The all-rounder role plays a pivotal role in the success of a particular team. India has two quality all-rounders in Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. Meanwhile, Pandya is getting more chances as compared with Ravindra Jadeja. In fact, Hardik Pandya is a seam-bowling all-rounder whereas Ravindra Jadeja is a spinner all-rounder. Thus, the comparison between them is difficult. However, we try to decode the different qualities of both players.

Hardik Pandya vs Ravindra Jadeja

Let’s try and compare the careers of both these players. We will take a look at their overall stats and would try to draw a conclusion on the basis of their records.

Hardik Pandya: 

Hardik Pandya has a first-class average of 29.04 as he has scored 1278 runs and has taken 41 wickets in the 28 matches. Thus, he hasn’t played a lot of the first-class format. Thus, it goes to show that Pandya is picked more for his limited overs performance and IPL cameos. Consequently, Pandya needs to play more first-class cricket to improve his red ball game.

Batting Records.

The team management has spotted the talent in him and thus they have tried to invest in Hardik Pandya. Pandya has 520 runs in 11 Test matches, 670 runs in 42 ODIs and 271 runs in the 35 T20Is. He has an average of 31.29 in the red ball version whereas he averages 29.13 in 50-overs format. In fact, Pandya has an impressive strike rate of 114.52 as he has the skills to get quick runs.

Pandya is an explosive batsman who likes to hit the ground running with his strokes. The right-hander has a liking for the spinners and has shown the skills to land them in the stands. However, Pandya can be vulnerable while playing against the fast bowlers.

Thus, if we take into account the power-hitting capability, Hardik Pandya will hold the edge over Ravindra Jadeja.

Bowling Records.

The Indian seamer has scalped 17 wickets in the longest format, 40 wickets in One-Dayers and 33 wickets in the shortest format.

Pandya has shown an upward swing in his improvement graph as far as his bowling performance is concerned. Pandya used to be on the expensive side when he had come on the big stage. Thus, getting ten overs out of Pandya was always a headache for the Indian captain. However, Pandya has substantially improved his bowling.

Ravindra Jadeja.

Ravindra Jadeja has always been known more for his bowling as compared to his batting. Jadeja has better first-class numbers as compared to Hardik Pandya.

Batting Records

The southpaw batsman has scored 5099 runs in 90 first-class matches. He has an average of 45.52 in first-class cricket and has also scored three triple hundreds. Jadeja has scored 1395 runs in the 38 Test matches as he averages 33.21.

The left-hander has scored 1962 runs in 140 One Day Internationals at an average of 31.14. However, Jadeja has only scored 116 runs in the 40 T20Is.

Bowling Records.

Jadeja definitely holds the edge if we talk about bowling in Test matches. The southpaw spinner has scalped 182 wickets in just 38 matches. However, most of these matches have been played on the Indian soil.

Ravindra Jadeja has 162 wickets in 140 One Day Internationals while he has taken 31 wickets in 40 T20Is.

More About Hardik Pandya.

Hardik Pandya has been the cynosure of all eyes since he has made his debut in 2016. The species of a seam-bowling all-rounder is rarely found in India. Thus, there has been a lot of excitement regarding the place of Hardik Pandya in all the three formats. In fact, Pandya has shown the right promise in the limited overs cricket to deliver the goods for the team.

Ravindra Jadeja.

On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja has been out of the limited-overs team for a long time. Jadeja had recently played in the Asia Cup and also did well. The all-rounder had scalped four wickets in the Super Four stage in the match against Bangladesh.

Jadeja had scored an unbeaten knock of 86 in the fifth and final Test match at the Oval against England. The southpaw batsman was able to keep India in the game with his fine knock. Furthermore, the left-hander had also scalped five wickets in the match. He also recently scored his maiden Test century against the Windies. Thus, it has been a merry last one month for Ravindra Jadeja.

In fact, Jadeja has shown better temperament with the bat. Consequently, he has let his bat do the talking and he has shown that he is a far better batsman as compared to the earlier version of him. Jadeja is no new boy in the dressing room as he made his debut back in 2009. Thus, the Saurashtra player also has the experience under his belt.

Conclusion:

Both the all-rounders have done well for India in the recent. Ravindra Jadeja will hold the edge in Test matches as he hits the bullseye with his bowling whereas Hardik Pandya has his wood on Jadeja in the limited overs version. Furthermore, both these players are live wires on the field and thus are brilliant fielders, which adds to the team’s success.