MS Dhoni and his trusted spin-duo of Ashwin-Jadeja
Every captain has a set of go-to bowlers whom he trusts a lot to deliver when the team needs them to. A lot of thoughts, analysis, and study go into a skipper's mind to determine such a set of bowlers. For the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, such a set was the dangerous duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
MS Dhoni was made the captain of the Indian Test squad in the 3rd Test against Australia in Nov 2008 when the then-skipper of the Indian Test team Anil Kumble was injured and had to retire from international cricket. It was this Test match that marked the beginning of Dhoni's captaincy stint in all 3 formats.
Following Anil Kumble's retirement and Harbhajan Singh's continued struggles with form, the skipper Dhoni needed to put together a new bowling combination which could be beneficial not just in the sub-continent but in foreign conditions as well.
With Ashwin's gradual and effective emergence as the new difficult-to-read off-spinner, reflected by his impressive performances, his capabilities catapulted him to a new role as the leading off-spinner for the Indian team. At that time, slowly and effectively, Jadeja's performances and his bowling abilities as a crafty left-arm spinner provided Dhoni with a brand new combination whose lethal significance was first observed in limited overs cricket.
After the 2011 World Cup, these two bowlers emerged as India’s strike spinners across all 3 formats. They hunted as a duo and performed well in overseas tournaments as well. This match-winning duo proved itself to be very reliable in distinct conditions.
They played instrumental roles in winning crucial tournaments and trophies like the Champions Trophy in 2013 and the historic 4-0 Test series victory over Australia in 2013. In August 2013, Jadeja topped the ICC's ODI bowling rankings, becoming the first Indian to do so since Anil Kumble in 1996. This duo proved its worth not only in the international matches but also in tournaments such as the IPL and the Champions League T20.
Their numbers in Test cricket have also been really good. This combination has continued to adhere to strict line and length in Test cricket. Even after Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket, this duo has continued to serve as a good hunting duo. In the 2016-17 season, they made a new record of most wickets taken by a bowling pair in a season as they picked up 153 wickets between them (82 Ashwin, 71 Jadeja) in 13 matches at an average of 24.14.
In the ongoing Test series against England, Ashwin has been effective with the ball. As a capable all-rounder, Jadeja still holds his worth to feature in the upcoming competitions like the 2019 World Cup. Both of them are fairly experienced by now and it will be interesting to see if this duo continues to hunt together in the future or gets eclipsed.