When the late great Shane Warne gave Ravindra Jadeja the nickname ‘Rockstar’ during the first season of the Indian T20 League in 2008, most just laughed and chalked it off as mind games. Jadeja made 135 runs from the 103 balls he faced that season, and the 13 deliveries he bowled went for 21 runs. What Warne saw wasn’t obvious to most others. 

A year later, Indian fans booed Jadeja and made him the scapegoat for a 3-run loss to England at the T20 World Cup in 2009. Jadeja had struggled horribly for a 35-ball 25, but the real culprits were the team’s think tank who had the bizarre idea of promoting him to No.4 ahead of big hitters like Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan. The fact that Jadeja had bowled beautifully to take 2-26, including the key wicket of Kevin Pietersen, was forgotten in the avalanche of abuse he received. 

But that bitter experience only made Jadeja stronger. His critics didn’t realize that he had already gone through far worse, losing his mother in a horrible domestic accident when he was just 16. With support from those he most admired, like Warne and Dhoni, Jadeja rebuilt his career. He made his Test debut in 2012 and was the leading wicket taker when India won the Champions Trophy in 2013. 

But it’s in the last 4 years that Jadeja has really taken his game to another level. In that period, he averages 47.76 with the bat, including 2 centuries, and has taken 76 wickets at 25.46. Those are spectacular numbers, up there with the best that any all-rounder of any era has produced. His career average and strike rate are second only to R Ashwin among Indian spinners – better than Anil Kumble and the legendary spin quartet of the 1960s and 70s. 

Victory in the 1^st Test against Sri Lanka featured another Jadeja masterclass – 175* with the bat and 9 wickets with the ball. Later he spoke emotionally of how much he had learned from sharing a dressing room with Warne all those years ago. The legend had known then what we all know now. Jadeja really is special. 

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