Ravindra Jadeja recently played his 86th Test against the West Indies and achieved a feat very few have in Indian cricket. He won his 11th Man of the Match award, equalling the great Rahul Dravid, who played almost double the number of Tests. Jadeja now stands just behind Sachin Tendulkar on the list. But what does this mean in the context of Indian cricket?

For starters, he is arguably the greatest all-rounder to have donned the Indian Blues. Not to disrespect any of our past legends, the numbers speak for themselves and justify this tag. He is just 10 runs short of breaching the 4,000-run mark in Test cricket, in addition to 334 wickets-a feat so impressive that only a selected few have achieved it. Once he reaches this milestone, he will join the legendary Kapil Dev in this exclusive list.

Ravindra Jadeja sits in elite company of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid in Tests

Now, let's take a closer look at the numbers. In any form of cricket, a batsman with an average over 35 is considered good, whereas a bowler with an average around 25 is considered great. In Test cricket, only two cricketers in the history of the game have maintained such numbers after playing more than 50 Tests: Jadeja and the iconic Imran Khan (minimum 1,000 runs & 50 wickets). These numbers are unprecedented and purely the stuff of dreams. In other words, there have been only two perfect all-rounders with such extraordinary stats-Jadeja and Imran.

Jadeja has always been a phenomenal bowler since his debut, but there were questions over whether he could replicate his first-class batting exploits in Test cricket. Since 2022, however, Jadeja the batsman has flourished and become one of the most prolific batsmen in Team India. During this period, he ranks fourth in the list of most runs scored by Indians in Tests.

Since 2022, he has averaged more than 47 with the bat, with five of his six centuries coming during this phase. He has now become one of the linchpins of India's solid middle order. Not only has his batting improved, but his bowling numbers have also risen. His hallmark in Test matches has always been accuracy, while with the bat he has worked tirelessly on his defence and technique. With a hunger to preserve his wicket and bat for long periods, he has rescued India from tricky situations many times in recent years. Barring South Africa, where the sample size is small, he maintains respectable batting numbers in every country he has played in. The peak of his batting prowess was seen in the recently concluded tour of England, where he scored over 500 runs at an average of 86.

Jadeja, as a Test cricketer, deserves much more respect and recognition than he currently receives. His numbers in Test cricket are truly remarkable. At 36 years old and moving into the later stages of his career, he has already retired from T20Is, and fans hope he continues to play Test cricket for a few more years. Jadeja is already one of the greats of the game, and it is about time he receives the respect he has earned-on par with any other superstar in Indian cricket.