"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." A fellow Gujarati, Mahatma Gandhi, could well have meant to say this about Ravindra Jadeja. The best of observers ignored his steady left-arm spin at first, then he was ridiculed for his three triple-centuries in Ranji Trophy, the idea of Jadeja the Test player was contested when India gave him debut in 2012-13 against conventional wisdom, but in India's series win against Australia Jadeja won them all over, not least by dismissing Michael Clarke five times out of the six he batted.
The ridicule of Jadeja's triples - more than any Indian has ever hit in first-class cricket - was actually an indictment of Indian domestic cricket, that a batsman proven to be limited in his days in international cricket could score triples with ease because of the quality of tracks and attacks. However, his record with the ball in ODIs, his fielding and his rocket arm made him a valuable player in shorter formats, which shows in his US$2 million price tag at Chennai Super Kings.
Shane Warne, his IPL captain at Rajasthan Royals, nicknamed him "rockstar" because of Jadeja's confidence in his own ability, but his utility lies in his ability to do the dirty work. He is unerring in his accuracy, can bowl overs and overs without tiring, and maximises the natural variation available in the pitch. His fielding and his batting made him an easy pick as a third spinner in Tests in India, a ploy that worked like a charm. Clarke, one of the better players of spin going around, will testify, as will 24 wickets at 17.45 in his first full series.
Sidharth Monga