"There is no better all-rounder than him at the moment" - Aakash Chopra on Ravindra Jadeja after his performance in IND vs BAN 2024 1st Test
Aakash Chopra has termed Ravindra Jadeja as the best Test all-rounder in the world at the moment. While acknowledging that Ravichandran Ashwin outshone Jadeja in the first Test between India and Bangladesh in Chennai, the cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder has outperformed everyone over the last couple of years or so.
India defeated Bangladesh by 280 runs on Sunday, September 22, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series. While Ashwin scored 113 runs in the first innings and took six wickets in the second innings, Jadeja played an 86-run knock in the first essay and picked up five wickets across the two innings.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra opined that Jadeja is currently the standout all-rounder in Tests.
"If we talk about absolute cold stats and the last two years of cricket, he is the No. 1 Test all-rounder in the world. There is no better all-rounder than him at the moment. Of course, because Ashwin scored a century and picked up a five-wicket haul in this match, it will be discussed more," he said.
The former India opener noted that the Saurashtra all-rounder has improved significantly over the years, especially as a bowler.
"However, if you do a man-to-man comparison and see who is the best all-rounder in the world at the moment in Test cricket, it is Ravindra Jadeja. Ravindra Jadeja's evolution has been incredible because when he started he was also a batter (just like Ashwin), an amazing fielder, and used to bowl so fast that you used to ask how would he pick up wickets," Chopra observed.
Jadeja played as a frontline batter and a restrictive bowler at the start of his first-class career. He has amassed 7218 runs at an average of 45.39 in 128 first-class games, converting three of his 13 hundreds into triple centuries.
"There was an asterisk against his name, that if the conditions are favorable, Jaddu would pick up wickets" - Aakash Chopra on Ravindra Jadeja's bowling
![Ravindra Jadeja is just one short of 300 Test wickets. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/09/e91a5-17270105248187-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra noted that Ravindra Jadeja's bowling came to the forefront in the 2016 Chennai Test against England.
"There was an asterisk against his name, that if the conditions are favorable, Jaddu would pick up wickets, but if he didn't get them (favorable conditions), then sorry. He changed it in this ground itself. He picked up seven wickets against England on the last day, the game in which Karun Nair scored a triple hundred," he said.
The renowned commentator added that the left-arm spinner no longer needs favorable conditions to excel as a bowler.
"India couldn't have won that match, only Jaddu won it for them. Ashwin was also playing but he won the game. He kept moving forward from there and now he is not a conditions-applied bowler. To validate it, the truth is that he plays more away games than Ashwin," Chopra stated.
Chopra noted that while Ashwin teases batters with flight, Jadeja strangulates them with his accuracy. He added that the credit for 15 to 20 percent of Ashwin's wickets should go to Jadeja because of the pressure he builds from the other end.