"There is nothing Ravindra Jadeja cannot do on the ground" - Gautam Gambhir lauds all-rounder's growth

Gautam Gambhir has lauded Ravindra Jadeja for his development as an all-round cricketer on the international stage.

Jadeja registered figures of 3/68 as India bowled out Australia for 263 on Day 1 of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Delhi on Friday, February 17. Rohit Sharma and Co. ended the day at 21 for no loss in their first innings, trailing the visitors by 242 runs.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Gambhir was asked about Jadeja becoming the second fastest to achieve the double of 2500 runs and 250 wickets in Test cricket, to which he responded:

"Ravindra Jadeja is a complete package, he has all the basics a cricketer should have. He is athletic, has a repetitive action, can bat and is an amazing fielder. There is nothing Ravindra Jadeja cannot do on the ground."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the all-rounder gradually matured into becoming a finished product at the international level, elaborating:

"Some players take time to get groomed, to become a finished product and Ravindra Jadeja is one of them. It is not that he set the stage on fire immediately after coming into the team. He had the talent, different captains gave him the confidence - MS Dhoni, then Virat Kohli and now Rohit Sharma is doing it."

Jadeja was primarily seen as a bowler who could contribute a few runs with the bat in the initial few years of his international career. The Saurashtra player has grown in leaps and bounds as a batter in the last five years or so and has been more consistent than most of India's top-order players.

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"How many such all-rounders are there in the world?" - Gautam Gambhir on Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja is the top-ranked all-rounder in the ICC Test rankings. [P/C: BCCI]

Gambhir highlighted that not many players have the attributes Jadeja brings to the table, explaining:

"When you have a finished product like that now, you can get him to do anything, make him field anywhere, bowl him at any stage and bat at any number. How many such all-rounders are there in the world?"

As for Jadeja's dismissal of Usman Khawaja, his 250th victim in Test cricket, Mohammad Kaif said:

"The ball he bowled to Usman Khawaja, when you play the reverse sweep you want the ball to be close to the off stump, it was down the leg side. As soon as the batter changed his bat position, the bowler saw that and bowled outside the leg stump, because of which he couldn't control the shot."

Jadeja had a well-set Khawaja brilliantly caught by KL Rahul while playing a reverse sweep. The left-arm spinner later dismissed Pat Cummins and Todd Murphy to complete his three-wicket haul.