NewsNo Ashwin, no problem for player-of-the-match Ravindra Jadeja
04 Oct 2025 • Ahmedabad
Ravindra Jadeja has played plenty of memorable Tests at home, yet this one felt different. For the first time in India, he walked out without R Ashwin to share the load. No matter: an unbeaten 104 and four wickets later, India had beaten West Indies by an innings and 140 runs inside eight sessions.
The margin spoke for itself, but the detail still matters. India’s three-pronged spin attack – Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar – operated smoothly, with Axar Patel watching on. The visitors never really found a way through.
“Obviously we do miss him,” Jadeja said when the subject of Ashwin cropped up. “Ash has contributed so much to Indian cricket, been a match-winner for so many years.”
He paused, smiled, then added: “I was playing a [Test] match in India without Ash for the first time, so sometimes I did find myself thinking, yeah, Ash will come on and bowl, and then realising he isn’t there. But Kuldeep and Washy have already played so many matches, and we can’t call them youngsters, but it was a different combination.”
That combination worked. West Indies were 172 all out first up, then 214 second time around. Kuldeep’s wrist-spin created rough outside the right-hander’s off stump; Washington insisted on tight lines. The game moved quickly.
Jadeja, still dancing around at 36, now sits on 3990 Test runs and 290 wickets. Ten more runs take him into the 4000-300 club, reached only by Garry Sobers, Ian Botham and Kapil Dev. He shrugged when someone pointed it out. “You’re putting pressure on me now,” he joked. “I’ll have to start thinking about how to score 1000 more runs and take 60-70 more wickets.”
A grin, then the usual refrain: “At this stage I’m enjoying my cricket. I’m not thinking about records or milestones. I’m just working on my fitness and enjoying my cricket. Whenever I’m at home I always work on my fitness so that I just continue doing what I’ve been doing [for] so many years, so that’s about it.”
The numbers this year suggest the approach works. In seven Tests, Jadeja has 659 runs at 82.37 – two hundreds, five fifties – plus 27 wickets at 22. England away was the big haul: 516 runs in five Tests, six scores north of fifty. He has nudged the selectors, too, by often batting at No.5 or 6.
“I’ve worked on my batting – I’ve made some changes both mentally and skill-wise,” he explained. “I used to have a different mindset before, in my batting, but I’ve made a few changes now.”
Then a touch of honesty: “If you get the chance to bat up the order, you definitely bat with a different mindset. I’ve batted at No. 8 and 9 in Test matches before, and that comes with a different mindset, and if you bat with that mindset you can end up playing a loose shot an…”
The sentence trailed off, but the meaning was clear enough. Give a genuine all-rounder responsibility, and he takes it.
Coaching staff have noticed subtle differences. One pointed out that Jadeja now starts slightly outside leg stump, opening up the off-side drive yet still trusting his defence. Another mentioned a fitness routine built around short, sharp ‘shuttle’ sprints, an attempt to stay nimble on hard outfields.
From the West Indian camp, captain Kraigg Brathwaite offered a nod of respect. “Jadeja controlled the Test,” he said. “You think you’ve got a plan and then he just waits, nudges, and suddenly the scoreboard’s run away from you.”
Kuldeep was brief but sincere: “He gives confidence to the rest of us. When Jaddu’s there, you feel if you keep it tidy he’ll find the breakthrough.”
The bigger picture? India start a five-Test series against New Zealand next month, still without Ashwin. Selectors must juggle workloads, but right now Jadeja shoulders the spin-leader tag comfortably enough. It won’t last for ever – it never does – yet the lesson from Ahmedabad is that transition needn’t be a crisis. Sometimes you just move the field a little, hand the ball to Jadeja, and watch the match drift India’s way.
Modest as ever, he signed off: “In the future you will ask, Jaddu isn’t here, and someone else will be there. This is inevitable, and it will keep happening, but it feels good to contribute to the team.”
Nothing flashy, nothing overly dramatic, just another tidy shift. The kind that wins Tests and, quietly, nudges records a little closer.
