For any aspiring all-rounder, the benchmark to meet Test-standard is the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets. Ravindra Jadeja has become the 10th Indian cricketer to pass the all-rounders’ statistical litmus test. The 28-year old completed the feat during the fourth Test against Australia in Dharamsala.
Coming into the match needing 12 runs to secure the rare Test double, Jadeja got to the landmark with a towering six off Nathan Lyon towards the end of the second day’s play at the picturesque HPCA Stadium. With his exploits in both departments of the game, he has joined an illustrious group of all-rounders who have accomplished the Test double.
Prior to Jadeja, only 64 cricketers had reached the landmark. To put the numbers into perspective, those are from more than 140 years of Test cricket. Having begun his career in the shorter formats before gradually working his way through to Test level, the left-arm spinner’s achievements highlight his growing value to Indian cricket.
In chronological order, the nine other Indian all-rounders to complete the double are Vinoo Mankad, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan and Ravichandran Ashwin.
A trail-blazer at a time when Indian cricket was in its developmental phase, Mankad almost single-handedly managed to deliver quite a few memorable victories with performances in both departments.
Upon starting his Test career as a number ten batsman, Shastri improved by leaps and bounds to even open the innings on several occasions. Primarily heralded for their bowling prowess, the likes of Kumble, Srinath, Harbhajan and Zaheer often provided handy contributions from the lower-order.
Despite not quite managing to live up to those lofty expectations towards the latter part of his career, Irfan‘s Test numbers could give a glimpse into his gifted potential with both bat and ball.
Going by the differences between the batting and bowling averages, the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja simply tower above the rest. However, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner and Kapil Dev are the only two Indian all-rounders to meet the universally accepted criteria for being tagged as truly world-class – a batting average above 30 and bowling average below 30.
Here is a table featuring the prominent Indian all-rounders of all time.
Player | Career Span | Matches | Runs | Batting Average | Centuries | Wickets | Bowling Average | 5-wicket Hauls | Average Difference |
Vinoo Mankad | 1946-59 | 44 | 2109 | 31.47 | 5 | 162 | 32.32 | 8 | -0.84 |
Kapil Dev | 1978-94 | 131 | 5248 | 31.05 | 8 | 434 | 29.64 | 23 | 1.40 |
Ravi Shastri | 1981-92 | 80 | 3830 | 35.79 | 11 | 151 | 40.96 | 2 | -5.16 |
Anil Kumble | 1990-2008 | 132 | 2506 | 17.77 | 1 | 619 | 29.65 | 35 | -11.87 |
Javagal Srinath | 1991-2002 | 67 | 1009 | 14.21 | 0 | 236 | 30.49 | 10 | -16.28 |
Harbhajan Singh | 1998-2015 | 103 | 2224 | 18.22 | 2 | 417 | 32.46 | 25 | -14.23 |
Zaheer Khan | 2000-14 | 92 | 1231 | 11.95 | 0 | 311 | 32.94 | 11 | -20.99 |
Irfan Pathan | 2003-08 | 29 | 1105 | 31.57 | 1 | 100 | 32.26 | 7 | -0.68 |
Ravichandran Ashwin | 2011-present | 49 | 1903 | 32.25 | 4 | 272 | 25.39 | 25 | 6.85 |
Ravindra Jadeja | 2012-present | 30 | 1004 | 27.88 | 0 | 139 | 23.45 | 8 | 4.43 |
(*Note: All Statistics are as of 26th March 2017, at the end of the second day’s play in Dharamsala)
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