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'I was envious': R Ashwin makes honest confession about Ravindra Jadeja

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Speaking on Aakash Chopra's podcast *Baith & Bol*, Ravichandran Ashwin explained that pushing Jadeja to alter his flight and pace initially compromised the left-arm spinner's economy. Once Ashwin accepted Jadeja's role as a restrictive bowler, their complementary skill sets began to dominate opponents. Ashwin also admitted feeling envious of Jadeja's effortless natural gifts across batting, bowling, and fielding, while noting he was never jealous of his teammate's achievements.

Key points

  • Embracing contrasting styles rather than forcing technical changes allowed the bowling pa…: Embracing contrasting styles rather than forcing technical changes allowed the bowling partnership to maximize its collective effectiveness.
  • Jadeja's ability to choke the scoring rate provided Ashwin the freedom to attack aggressi…: Jadeja's ability to choke the scoring rate provided Ashwin the freedom to attack aggressively from the opposite end.
  • Ashwin admired Jadeja's natural all-round talents, acknowledging skills that hard work in…: Ashwin admired Jadeja's natural all-round talents, acknowledging skills that hard work in practice could not easily replicate.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Ravichandran Ashwin has offered an interesting account of what made his bowling partnership with

Ravindra Jadeja so successful, revealing how he learned to use the left-arm spinner's strengths and limitations to his advantage.

Ashwin described Jadeja as an exceptionally gifted cricketer but suggested that the all-rounder initially lacked the instinct to consistently find ways to dismiss batters.

The two formed one of the most successful spin combinations in Test cricket, sharing the field in 58 matches and accounting for 587 wickets. While Ashwin claimed 317 of those dismissals, Jadeja contributed 270. According to the former India off-spinner, their success stemmed from understanding each other's contrasting approaches and making the most of them.

Speaking on Aakash Chopra's podcast show, Baith & Bol, Ashwin explained that he understood Jadeja's game well enough to help him operate within his strengths rather than push him towards something that did not come naturally to him.

“I know his limitations well," Ashwin said. “Very few can bring him out of those limitations. I was one of them. His biggest strength: naturally gifted. If he has a…

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