Ravindra Jadeja vs Jacob Bethell - comparing their stats after 9 ODIs 

Ravindra Jadeja, one of the greatest modern-day all-rounders, had a memorable outing during the opening ODI against England at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on February 6. The left-arm spinner bagged three crucial wickets in the middle overs to restrict England to a below-par 248.

Jadeja’s three wickets included Jacob Bethell, the new rising star of England cricket. A player from a similar mold, Bethell was trapped in front of the stumps by a trademark Jadeja delivery which drifted away from the southpaw and straightened a tad to wrap Bethell in front of the stumps.

Bethell scored his second ODI fifty and looked in complete control of proceedings during his stay in the middle. Just like Jadeja, he is a left-handed middle-order batter and also bowls left-arm spin. While Jadeja is a bowling all-rounder in most teams he plays for, Bethell’s role is just the opposite.

He is a premier batter for England with the ability to chip in with some crucial overs in the middle. Bethell got the prized wicket of Shreyas Iyer during the hosts' run chase and could be a good option against the right-handers. The 21-year-old has already made his Test debut while Jadeja is a legend of the red-ball game.

Bethell has all the attributes to succeed at the highest level and play for England for the next 10 years. The left-arm bowler will keep developing his skills as his career progresses but being in the scheme of things in all three formats should keep him in good stead.

While Jadeja has become a great of the game, it will take significant time for Bethell to emulate the former's record in any of the three formats. However, he has had an impressive start to his international career and has the talent to become a good all-rounder for England.

In this article, we have compared the stats of Jacob Bethell and Ravindra Jadeja after nine ODIs:

Jacob Bethell’s performance after 9 ODIs

Jacob Bethell came to the forefront in September 2024 when he played a vintage counter-attacking knock against Australia in Cardiff. His assault against one of the greatest white ball spinners in the modern game, Adam Zampa, gained him overnight recognition.

He was fast-tracked into the England Test side after scoring three impressive half-centuries on the subsequent tour to the West Indies. He has played three Tests, nine ODIs, and 10 T20Is in his career so far and here we will speak about his ODI numbers.

Bethell made his fifty-over debut against Australia in September 2024 in Nottingham and immediately made an impact, scoring a stroke-filled 35 off 34 deliveries, including some exquisite shots. His stroke play made it clear that he was a special talent who, if groomed properly, could go on to serve England for a long time.

He also took three wickets in his first two ODIs but didn't score a fifty during the five-match ODI series. He scored 25 in the second ODI but didn't get to bat in the third encounter. Bethell mustered 12 and 13 in the last couple of games as Australia won the series 3-2.

After scoring 27 in the opening ODI against West Indies, he finally scored his first half-century against the same opposition at North Sound, helping England win the match.

The southpaw scored a duck in the final ODI but responded with a reliable fifty in the series opener against India in Nagpur. So far in his ODI career, Bethell has scored 218 runs in nine games at an average of 31.14 with two half-centuries to his name. He has also picked five ODI wickets with best figures of 2/33.

Ravindra Jadeja’s performance after 9 ODIs

Calling him a ‘rockstar,’ late Australian legend Shane Warne had reserved special praise for Ravindra Jadeja after the 2008 IPL. Jadeja made his international debut in ODIs and T20Is in 2009 and since then, has become one of the most pivotal figures in Indian cricket across formats.

Jadeja retired from T20I cricket after winning the World Cup for India in 2024 but continues to be an integral part of the ODI and the Test sides. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2009 and made an immediate impact by scoring fifty.

Ravindra Jadeja celebrates picking a wicket in the opening ODI. Source: Getty

Sri Lanka won the game but Jadeja scored 60 in the lower order and showed his abilities with the bat. He went wicketless and conceded 40 runs in his six overs. Jadeja was part of the squad for the ODI series in West Indies but couldn't make an impact in the two matches he played.

He scored a duck and 7 in Kingston and went wicketless in both games. The next six games were against Australia, which were part of a seven-match series that the Aussies won 4-2. Jadeja wasn't at his best and scored only a solitary fifty in those six games.

He bagged three and two wickets in the second and the third ODIs in Nagpur and Delhi, respectively, but didn't get a wicket in the next three games. Jadeja scored a face-saving half-century for India during the sixth ODI in Guhwati, chipping with a fluent 57.

In his first nine ODIs, the all-rounder scored 159 runs at an average of 26.50 with two fifties. He also bagged six wickets at an average of 51.33. While the start of his international career wasn't quite pleasing, he has become one of the finest all-rounders in the modern generation.

Conclusion:

While Bethell has better numbers after the first nine ODIs, he bats higher up the order while Jadeja has batted in the lower-middle order for the majority of his career. However, Bethell is just in the infancy of international cricket and Jadeja has already established himself as a premier all-rounder in world cricket.

Jadeja is also one of the greatest fielders of all time and his impact for India, irrespective of formats, is something you need to work hard to achieve. As far as ODIs are concerned, Bethell does have the talent and skillset to emulate Jadeja.