Jadeja and Smith: Contrasting paths of two bits-and-pieces players

Let me start my article by apologizing for the title as it totally undermines the performance of these two talented and still young players.When both Ravindra Jadeja (or Sir Jadeja) and Steven Smith burst on to the scene, they were thought of as the quintessential modern day players who were decent, if not spectacular, with the bat, ball and in the field (more spectacular while fielding). However, there was some aura around them which said that they will start leading their sides at some point of time. While there is a still a lot of time to go, they have shown some spark to justify the hype at some points of their career. The recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series was a testimony of this fact. While Jadeja has developed himself into more of a Test bowler in Indian conditions, Steven Smith seems to have found his spot as a decent middle order bat even in the testing Indian conditions.

Going back in history, both of them almost came into prominence between 2006 to 2008, outshining their counterparts in the junior game. They were what the doctor ordered for both the teams. Australia were always obsessed with grooming anyone who could tweak the ball, especially after the imminent retirement of one Mr. Shane Warne , who was by far the best leg spinner that Australia had produced. And believe me, Steven Smith was closest to what they could get, especially at the start of his career. Even now, Smith can land the  ball alright. The wicket of the “Little Master” was a testament to this. Jadeja, on the other hand, was seen as a decent sub-continental batsman and a bowler who would contain the flow of runs. In addition to that, he was hyped up by none other than Warne, when playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.

Possibly because of all these going in their favor, they were fast tracked into the national setup well before the grinds of their domestic setup. Hence, it did not help that they were soon found out in international cricket and had to be on the sidelines for some time. However, both Jadeja and Smith showed some promising performances on and off during their short vigil. In hindsight, this was the ideal kick in their back side for them to work around themselves and come back stronger, and that they did. Slowly chipping away in their respective domestic T20 competitions, they fought their way into national contention, but could not quite get selected.

Both of them, in fact, played together in the 4th season of IPL for Kochi Tuskers. But while Jaddu, being an Indian, got his chance, Smith, unfortunately, could not force himself into the team. This was the breakthrough season where Jadeja found his array of strokes, especially his big hitting down the ground. Smith, meanwhile, performed admirably for NSW Blues and later captained Sydney Sixers to glory months later in the Big Bash. This got Smith his rightful chance of replacing Mitch Marsh in the Pune Warriors team and boy did he let that go. Coming with continuous match winning performances, he turned a corner as a pure batsman whose batting and fielding were the highlights of the season.

Both kept piling on the runs in their domestic competitions, especially in the Tests, and rightfully won back their places into the Test team. What was astonishing to see was how easily they adapted into their role and out performed the “better” players. The recent Border-Gavaskar series gave us the evidence of how far each of them have come from their early promise. In Duncan Fletcher and Mickey Arthur, they have two coaches who have had history of moulding similar players into regular fixtures in the national Team. Recent examples of Ashley Giles and Justin Kemp spring to my mind.

Another striking thing about them is that they have the knack of being at the right place at the right time. While Smith has won the Big Bash, T20 Big Bash, Champions League T20 (twice) in addition to the Champions Trophy, Jadeja has won the U19 World Cup, IPL, etc. Having tasted the sweetness of victory at an early age, they would know how to go about winning as well as pass the legacy to the next crop of players.

As far as I can see, Smith could be s a fidgety middle order batsman who can play well even when the entire team is collapsing, the role which Steve Waugh did successfully for years. His enterprising 90′s at Mohali (2013) as well as his 88 in Lord’s vs Pakistan in 2009 suggests that here is a guy who is very adaptable to various conditions. Coming to Jadeja, I see him as a subcontinental strike bowler who can play in some foreign conditions to just lend balance to the side along with Ashwin (at 7 and 8 of the batting order in the future). If he applies himself, he can do the same role that players like Ashley Giles and Paul Harris did successfully for their sides i.e., to dry up one end so that other bowlers can run riot.

In captains Dhoni and Clarke, they have 2 men who understand them more than others and back them to perform. Only time will tell how successful they are in their career. This IPL will give us a small hint of how they are able to carry their form to a major tournament.