3 Indian all-rounders to score 2,500 Test runs and take 250 Test wickets in fewest Tests
India has produced few great all-rounders in the history of Test cricket. Being valuable in two major skills really enhances the team balance, allowing the side to play an extra bowler or batter, according to the conditions.
Ravindra Jadeja was the latest entrant to the elite club of players with more than 2,500 runs and 250 wickets. He became the second-fastest to that mark in world cricket, after English legend Sir Ian Botham, and the fastest Indian.
This raises the obvious question in the minds of cricket fans: Who was the fastest Indian to reach this unique double before Jadeja? To enlighten you, we take a look at the three fastest Indians to reach the coveted landmark.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja - 62 Tests
Jadeja becomes the second fastest in Test history to complete the 250 wickets, 2500 runs double in Test cricket.
Quicker than Imran, Kapil, Hadlee and Pollock. https://t.co/kXcZ0Spj8e
Ravindra Jadeja is undoubtedly among the best Test all-rounders of this generation. He has scored 2,593 runs at an average of 37.04 and taken 252 wickets at an average of 24.32, a strike rate of 59.8 and an economy rate of 2.43. He is the only Indian cricketer to average above 35 with the bat and below 25 with the ball.
The left-arm spinner made his Test debut in 2012, against England, at Nagpur. He has made rapid strides in the format ever since. However, his batting really started peaking in 2018. The southpaw became one of the most consistent batters in the team, becoming a mainstay unless he was injured.
The Saurashtra all-rounder reached 2,500 Test runs in the 60th match of his career, while taking his 250th wicket - of a well-set Usman Khawaja - in the ongoing Test. Indian fans will be hoping he achieves a lot more for the team in the rest of his career.
#2 Kapil Dev - 65 Tests
Fast-bowling all-rounder Kapil Dev is an unmatched cricketer in the history of the sport in India. Not only did he lead the country to a World Cup win in 1983, but was also the second bowler in the history of the format to take 400 wickets, after Sir Richard Hadlee.
The former India skipper scored 5,248 runs in 131 Tests at an average of 31.05. He reached the 2,500 run mark in his 63rd Test against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in 1984.
Two Tests later, he took his 250th wicket when he dismissed Allan Lamb at the Wankhede Stadium. He was a workhorse in conditions that barely provided any assistance to the fast bowlers.
#3 Ravichandran Ashwin - 75 Tests
Ashwin is the fastest Indian to complete 50 wickets, 100 wickets, 150 wickets, 200 wickets, 250 wickets, 300 wickets, 350 wickets, 400 wickets, 450 wickets in Tests.
Ravichandran Ashwin is, arguably, the best Test spin bowler of this generation. He is a pretty handy lower-order batter as well. The Tamil Nadu cricketer has taken 460 wickets at an average of 24.01, a strike rate of 51.80, and an economy rate of 2.77.
The right-arm off-spinner is the fastest to reach 250 Test wickets. He achieved the milestone against Bangladesh when he dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim in 2017, in what was only his 45th match in the format. He also eclipsed the likes of Dennis Lilee and Dale Steyn to become the quickest to achieve the feat.
Ashwin brought up 2,500 Test runs against England in 2021 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in his 75th Test. He has played several crucial innings throughout the course of his Test career, particularly on home soil. The ace all-rounder has scored five Test hundreds in his career, to go along with 30 five-wicket hauls.