"Jadeja is in the same bracket as Ben Stokes" - Deep Dasgupta
Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta lavished praise on all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and feels the left-arm spinner belongs in the same bracket as Ben Stokes. Many experts generally consider the England star as the best all-rounder of this generation, and Dasgupta believes that Jadeja's name should be taken in the same breath.
Ravindra Jadeja replaced Virat Kohli for the second Test match which was no easy feat. Jadeja showed his mettle with the bat as he scored a patient 57 runs in first innings. Deep Dasgupta praised Jadeja for his batting and felt the all-rounder has started to take his batting more seriously. He said:
"As of now the way he's batting he definitely is (in the same bracket as Ben Stokes). Even during the IPL I actually said why not him at No. 4 for CSK. He's got a couple of triple hundreds in domestic cricket, getting runs there is not easy."
"For Saurashtra he bats at No. 4, but for India, he comes in at 7 or 8. Somehow I felt that he never took his batting seriously enough. In 2017 he was dropped from the side but and I think what kind of prompted him was the fact that he wanted to make himself more useful to the team, not just with the ball but with the bat as well. Because Jadeja, I know for a fact, always wanted to be a batsman."
The all-rounder made valuable contribution in all three departments in the second Test after returning from an injury. The left-hander stitched a crucial partnership with Ajinkya Rahane and contributed with the ball in the second innings when India were a bowler short. He also star picked 3 wickets in the Test match.
Is Ravindra Jadeja matching up with Ben Stokes?
Deep Dasgupta is not making empty claims as Ravindra Jadeja's bowling and batting averages are slightly better than Ben Stokes over the last four years. Jadeja averages 46.29 & 24.97 with bat and ball since 2016.
Meanwhile, Stokes averages 42.34 and 27.59. Jadeja's number are also better than Shakib Al Hasan as the Bangladesh all-rounder averages 38.48 and 26.03 with bat and ball.
With two more Tests to go, India will hope that the all-rounder can continue with his excellent form for the rest of the Border-Gavaskar series.