Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja (born December 6, 1988, Navagam-Khed, Gujarat, India) is an Indian international cricketer, widely regarded as one of the best all-rounders to play cricket for India. A slow left-arm orthodox bowler and left-hand batter, he is also known for his quick reflexes on the field. He has more than 500 international wickets and is the eighth batter in cricket history to have scored three triple centuries in first-class cricket. In 2019 he received the Arjuna Award, India’s second highest sporting honor. Jadeja is married to Rivaba Jadeja (née Solanki), a politician and member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

Signature Sword Celebration

Jadeja is known for his distinctive pitch celebration, wherein he brandishes his bat like a sword each time he scores a half-century or century.

Early life and career

Ravindra Jadeja, born to Lataben and Anirudhsinh Jadeja, grew up in a family of modest means in the state of Gujarat. He started playing cricket young and joined the Nawanagar Cricket Academy in Jamnagar at the age of eight. The academy coach Mahendrasinh Chauhan emphasized fitness and fielding skills, both of which would hold Jadeja in good stead during his career.

Aged 17, Jadeja played in the 2006 International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup, taking three wickets in the final match against Pakistan, though India lost. He was vice-captain in the next edition of the tournament in 2008, when a Virat Kohli-led India won by beating South Africa in the final.

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Jadeja made his domestic senior-cricket debut in a Deodhar Trophy game in February 2006. He played for the West Zone against the Central Zone, taking two wickets and scoring an important 26 runs as West Zone won by three wickets. His first-class debut came later that year in a Duleep Trophy match that he played for the West Zone against the South Zone. Although he took no wickets in that match, he scored a half-century at a rate faster than a run a ball. His 739 runs and 42 wickets in the 2008–09 Ranji Trophy earned him a place in India’s One Day International (ODI) team in 2009. During a Ranji Trophy match for Saurashtra against the Indian Railways cricket team in 2012, 23-year-old Jadeja became only the eighth batsman in cricket history to score three first-class triple centuries. This put him in league with iconic batters such as Don Bradman, William Gilbert Grace, and Brian Lara.

Franchise cricket

Jadeja was signed by the Rajasthan Royals for $30,000 in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2007–08. He scored 135 runs in 14 matches, with the Rajasthan Royals winning the title. He was called a “superstar in the making” by his captain, the renowned Australian cricketer Shane Warne. He more than doubled his run tally and picked up six economical wickets in the 2009 season. However, he was banned for the 2010 season after an irregular contract discussion with another IPL team, a violation of league rules. He returned to the IPL in 2011 as part of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala squad. In 2012 Jadeja fetched the highest bid of that year’s auction, a whopping $2 million, and was signed by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He has remained with the CSK since then, save for two years playing for the Gujarat Lions from 2016–17 when the CSK faced a temporary ban.

With the CSK Jadeja has won three IPL titles (in 2018, 2021, and 2023). In 2021 he scored 62 runs off 28 balls, with 37 runs in one over, equaling the IPL record for most runs in an over (shared with Chris Gayle; both batters scored 36 off the bat and got an additional run from a no-ball delivery in the over).

Jadeja also briefly captained the CSK in IPL 2022, taking over from M.S. Dhoni. Jadeja had never captained any senior side before, and the new position put pressure on his performance that led him to resign as captain eight games into the season, prompting Dhoni’s return to captaincy.

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International career

Jadeja made his international debut in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in February 2009, scoring a half-century. His Twenty20 International (T20I) debut followed a couple of days later against the same opposition. Jadeja was chosen to join the India squad for the 2009 T20 Men’s World Cup, but in his only game of the tournament he struggled to score, managing 25 runs off 35 balls. He was blamed for India’s loss to England and subsequent exit from the event. However, Jadeja continued to be part of the ODI and T20I squads and was backed by Indian skipper Dhoni.

Jadeja made his Test debut in the fourth Test of the India-England series in 2012 and retained his place in the Test side that played Australia in 2013, and he played a key role in India’s 4–0 whitewash with 24 wickets, including his first Test five-wicket haul in a single innings. This was also the series where Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin came to prominence as a spin duo, going on to become one of the most successful bowling pairs of all time, especially on the spin-conducive wickets of India. In 2017 they jointly topped the Test bowling rankings.

Later in 2013 Jadeja played a key role in India’s ICC Champions Trophy victory. He was named Player of the Match in the final, scoring 33 runs and taking two wickets as India beat England. He went on to feature in the India squads in the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups; India was eliminated in the semifinals in both events. Jadeja also featured in the India squad in the 2024 T20I World Cup, where they beat South Africa to win the T20I World Cup for the first time in 17 years; he retired from T20I cricket after the final. Jadeja has continued to be a mainstay in India’s Test side, and in 2024 he became the second quickest player in Test history to achieve the double record of 3000 runs and 300 wickets.