Last Updated: February 20, 2023, 16:07 IST
Axar Patel (R) and Ravindra Jadeja (L)
Aakash Chopra believes that Ravindra Jadeja’s batting has given confidence to his complete skill set in Test cricket
The recovery period is one of the toughest phases in an athlete’s life and who would know it better than Ravindra Jadeja? He suffered a knee injury during Asia Cup last year which sidelined him for six months. After working day and night at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to gain his rhythm back, the ace all-rounder returned for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 with all guns blazing.
He began the series with a five-wicket haul in Nagpur and a valuable 70-run knock to help India win the game by an innings and 132 runs. Almost a week later, he ended the Delhi Test with a 10-wicket match haul and bagged the Player of the Match award. Currently, Jadeja is the leading wicket-taker of the Test series with 17 scalps to his credit.
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Former India batter Aakash Chopra believes that Ravindra Jadeja’s batting has given confidence to his complete skill set in the longest format of the game after his impressive performance in the first two Tests.
“To be fair, it felt as if he never went away. In the series where he was not available at home, Axar was taking 5 wickets every time he rolled his arm over. And now Axar is not able to bowl since Ravindra Jadeja is at his very best,” Chopra told ESPNCricinfo.
Jadeja was adjudged Player of the match on both occasions for his exceptional performance as India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth straight time with a six-wicket win in the second Test in Delhi by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
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“It is Jadeja’s batting I think which has made him the player he is right now. Just the confidence in his complete skill set, and his entire package has made him a player who has got this immense self-belief. He comes out at bat at 4/5 and scores runs, comes to bowl on Day 1, and picks wickets, which was not his forte in the first half of his Test career.
“In my opinion, it is his batting that has made him the super-confident Jadeja that we see now,” he added.
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