<img title="India's Ravindra Jadeja celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Dimuth Karunaratne during Day Four of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday. Pic/AP,PTI" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/aug/jaddu-top.jpg" alt="India's Ravindra Jadeja celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Dimuth Karunaratne during Day Four of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday. Pic/AP,PTI" /> India's Ravindra Jadeja celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Dimuth Karunaratne during Day Four of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday. Pic/AP,PTI
Ravindra Jadeja achieved a unique double yesterday when he toppled Bangaldesh's Shakib Al Hasan to claim the top-rank in the ICC Test all-rounders rankings in addition to his No. 1 Test bowler ranking.
It has been a season to remember for Jadeja &mdash; a peak into his stats tell an astounding tale. In the ongoing three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, the Saurashtra batsman has taken 13 wickets [in two games], the most by a bowler from either side. He has also scored 85 runs, with a half-century in the Colombo Test, which India won by an innings and 53 runs to seal the series. Jadeja, 28, is also the second fastest Indian bowler after Ravichandran Ashwin to reach 150 wickets in Tests. Such has been the contribution from Jadeja that skipper Kohli also termed him as the Most Valuable Player [MVP].
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<img title="Nari Contractor" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/aug/Nari-Contractor.jpg" alt="Nari Contractor" /> Nari Contractor
However, former India skipper Nari Contractor, who coached Jadeja when he was just 14 during a coaching camp at the Cricket Club of India, feels the real test for India's MVP will be to perform in the same vein on wickets that are unfavourable to spinners.
"The biggest advantage is that he has been playing under conditions that are favouring him such as in Sri Lanka where the ball is turning by a yard. He has been scoring runs also and is gradually going up the ladder, but the real test will come when we tour abroad where wickets are not going to favour the spinners &mdash; places like South Africa, England, Australia. At one stage you rise in your life and this is the stage where he and Ashwin are going one step ahead. I am happy, but let's wait and see how they perform abroad. That is where their value will be really assessed," Contractor told mid-day yesterday.
The former India opener also reckoned that the Indian team have not been facing strong opposition. "We are playing against Sri Lanka, which is not very highly ranked; played the West Indies earlier. The oppositions and playing conditions have been helping certain individuals and Jadeja is one of them," Contractor, 83, added.
However, Jadeja will have to sit out of the third Test in Pallekele where India are eyeing a series sweep. He is banned for one Test after accumulating six de-merit points in a 24-month period. Contractor is glad Jadeja's penalty has come at a stage when success is his closest friend.
"With experience and success, all these things come up. It is good that it has come now because he has to learn not to be excessively aggressive. Everybody on a cricket field gets excited sometime or the other, but behaviour on the field has to be controlled whether the player likes it or not. The series has been decided and it will give us the chance to play the next spinner now. In a way, it is a blessing in disguise," Contractor, who feels Jadeja and Ashwin are "already in line to be great all-rounders" in Test cricket.
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Ex India captain Nari Contractor, who coached Ravindra Jadeja, delights in his elevation as the world's leading all-rounder, now wants to see him perform in Australia and South Africa

'Well done Ravindra Jadeja, but your biggest test in AUS, SA awaits you'

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Home / Sports / Cricket / Article / 'Well done Ravindra Jadeja, but your biggest test in AUS, SA awaits you'

'Well done Ravindra Jadeja, but your biggest test in AUS, SA awaits you'

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