Published 15:29 IST, June 30th 2020
Ravindra Jadeja better than Krunal Pandya? Fans recall 2019 WC heroics to prove the claim
Ravindra Jadeja has been a part of the Indian national team for almost a decade now and has gone on to become one of the mainstays of the team across formats.
Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja is one of the leading all-rounders in the world. Besides being a prolific bowler and a handy batsman, Ravindra Jadeja is one of the best fielders in world cricket. The southpaw is known for his agility on the field and ability to contribute with the bat as well as the ball. Ravindra Jadeja is regarded as the preferred choice for the spin all-rounder’s slot in the Indian team.
CSK star Ravindra Jadeja trends on Twitter as fans compare the southpaw with Mumbai Indians' Krunal Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja has been a part of the Indian team for almost a decade now and has gone on to become one of the mainstays across formats. The Saurashtra-born cricketer has 1.7 million followers on Instagram and on Twitter, he is followed by 2.6 million users but what stands out is that the CSK all-rounder follows no one on both the social media platforms. Despite that, he possesses a tremendous fan-following and a proof of it was on display on Monday afternoon when Ravindra Jadeja started trending on Twitter out of the blue.
The reason behind it was his comparison with another spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya. Ravindra Jadeja's fans started tweeting about their favourite star. One fan wrote, "Jadeja Vu - The feeling that Jadeja will again make the match close for us." Some fans even went to the extent of saying that not just Krunal but even Hardik Pandya is nowhere close to Ravindra Jadeja, who is the third-ranked all-rounder in Tests, while in ODIs he is ranked 7th.
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The comparison between Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya are absolutely bemusing considering the fact that Ravindra Jadeja has played over 250 matches for India including 49 Test matches, whereas Krunal Pandya is just 18 T20Is old. The only reason these comparisons are made is because of the similar kinds of players the two are. Both of them are left-handed in bowling spin and batting as well.
As far as IPL is concerned, Ravindra Jadeja has played 170 matches while the 29-year-old Krunal Pandya has played just 55 games. Ravindra Jadeja has scored 1,927 runs at an average of over 24 and strike-rate of 122.66. On the other hand, Krunal Pandya has amassed 891 runs at a strike-rate of 146 and an average of 25.46.
In the bowling department, Ravindra Jadeja has bagged 110 wickets at a strike-rate of 23.1 and economy of just over 7. On the other hand, Krunal Pandya has taken 40 wickets at a strike-rate of 23.6 and economy of 7.7. There actually isn't much of a difference as far as stats are concerned. However, the CSK star's superior fielding prowess gives him an edge over other players.
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IMAGE COURTESY: RAVINDRA JADEJA & KRUNAL PANDYA INSTAGRAM
Updated 15:30 IST, June 30th 2020