An attacking left-handed middle-order batsman, a left-arm spinner whose strength is his accuracy, and an outstanding fielder with a fine throwing arm, Ravindra Jadeja is the quintessential limited-overs player. As a batsman his strength is more the ability to work the gaps than to bludgeon the big hits, but Jadeja has been reasonably consistent even when batting in difficult lower-middle-order slots in ODIs. His left-arm spin is a reliable option for the captain to go to, especially in subcontinental conditions, while his speed and safe catching abilities make him a huge asset anywhere in the field.

Jadeja is a limited-overs regular in the Indian team, but he first caught the eye of the national selectors with his strong all-round showing in the 2008-09 Ranji Trophy - 42 wickets and 739 runs - and was promptly picked for the ODI series in Sri Lanka in 2009. He was a regular member of the IPL-winning Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural season in 2008, but performed better for them next season, being the side's highest run-scorer with 295 and conceding less than 6.5 runs per over. He was later acquired by Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2011, but following the team's ban, he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for a whopping US$2 million in 2012.

Jadeja has so far only been considered by India for limited-overs cricket, but in domestic games he has shown the ability to bat for long periods. In 2008-09 he scored an unbeaten 232 against Orissa in the Ranji Trophy, while in the Duleep Trophy semi-final in 2010-11 he scored an undefeated 170. Both scores were surpassed, though, when he played Orissa, yet again, in 2011-12: he scored 314 against them, the highest by a Saurashtra batsman in first-class cricket, and the 11th-highest overall in Ranji history.
ESPNcricinfo staff