Ravindra Jadeja thanks his fans after becoming the No. 1 bowler in Tests

Ravindra Jadeja, once a bunny for the critics who called him lucky to be a part of the Indian squad, now is on the top of the world after gaining the pole position in the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings. He has been in a tremendous form this season bagging heaps of wickets. He took to Twitter to show his gratitude to the fans who supported him through the journey.

The left-hander struck a purple patch this home season and where everyone was expecting Ravichandran Ashwin to be the premier wicket-taker, he hasn’t been too far behind. He has proved that he is no longer a support bowler for Ashwin. He has 67 wickets already this season and is inching closer to the fellow off-spinner.

Previously, he was believed to be a spinner who bags wickets only on spin-friendly pitches but recent series against England and now against Australia has reversed that opinion. Against England, there were surfaces that were unresponsive to the spinners until the fourth day and played true to the batsmen, even there Jadeja was quite effective and played a key role in India’s triumph.

In the recent Test at Ranchi, there was hardly any turn on offer but Jadeja was the most effective bowler and picked up 9 wickets in the match that included a fifer in the first innings. Ashwin managed to pick up just 2 wickets in 2 innings and the Australian spinners Lyon and O’Keefe bagged 4 wickets combined.

The reason why Jadeja is more effective is his steady lines and lengths. He keeps attacking the wickets on a regular basis and a slight lapse from the batsmen brings LBW and bowled into play. That combined with the pace at which he bowls doesn’t give much time for the batsmen to adjust. His economy rates are simply amazing and that adds to the pressure and sometimes aids bowlers at the other end to pick up wickets.

He has literally turned into a bowling machine that keeps notching over after over in quick successions and never shows the desire to rest. Before going into the third Test, he was on par with Ashwin at the top of the bowlers’ rankings, but a wonderful performance rendered him overtaking Ashwin who was sitting pretty there for quite some time.

His Twitter post read:

Thanks a lot guys for your all wishes and love. Respect ✌?keep supporting me i will give my best whenever i am on the field #jaihind??

— Ravindrasinh jadeja (@imjadeja) March 21, 2017