'I tend to think a lot, whereas he does not': R Ashwin names India's most talented cricketer and its not Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma

India’s spin all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have formed a formidable partnership in red-ball cricket. Often, they have been unplayable in home conditions. However, in overseas conditions, there have been times when Jadeja has been picked over Ashwin to incorporate more pacers in seam-friendly conditions. In the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021 final, he was benched against New Zealand, a move which was questioned by many. However, Ashwin is not bogged down by losing his place to Jadeja at times and said that there is no place for jealousy between the two.
 

“It’s not Jadeja’s fault that I’m not playing. I don’t have the kind of jealousy where I would wish to keep him out just to play myself. The notion of jealousy is a conditioning we need to overcome,” Ashwin told Vimal Kumar in an interview on his YouTube channel.
 

Ashwin lauded Jadeja for his all-round capabilities. He labelled the all-rounder as the most talented cricketer he has come across.
 

“Jadeja is the most talented cricketer I’ve seen; everything about him is natural. Over the years, our relationship has improved as we’ve learned to understand each other’s differences," Ashwin said.
 

“I tend to think a lot, whereas he does not. Understanding took time, but now we have a strong working relationship."

 

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The partnership of Ashwin and Jadeja will be seen in action again when India take on Bangladesh at home in Test series starting September 19. While Ashwin was not named in the Duleep Trophy 2024 squads, Jadeja was released from Team B. It will be interesting to see if they play in the second round of Duleep Trophy. 

 

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Ashwin-Jadeja chasing milestones

Ashwin is India's second-highest wicket-taker and eighth in the world. He has 516 wickets from 100 Tests. The off-spinner needs four more wickets to go past former West Indies pacer Courtney Walsh. Among current bowlers, he is competing with Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon who has 530 wickets from 129 Tests.
 

Meanwhile, Jadeja needs six more wickets to complete 300 Test wickets. In doing so, he will go past England's Derek Underwood who has 297 wickets. The Saurashtra all-rounder will become the third left-arm spinner after Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath (433 wickets) and New Zealand's Daniel Vettori (362) to take 300 or more wickets in the format.
 

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