Melbourne: It seemed odd to hear Ravindra Jadeja talk about R Ashwin in the past tense. For so long have they, proverbially, been joined at the hip that it’s difficult to think of them as separate entities.
They played 58 Tests together, and in those matches claimed 587 wickets. Ashwin’s share was 317 wickets and Jadeja’s 270, yet the manner in which they achieved those numbers was anything but similar.
Ashwin was the creative genius, Jadeja was the metronome. They complemented their styles with a competitive streak that saw them feed off each other’s energy yet never take it for granted. With them operating together, India were almost unbeatable at home.
The pair bowled together for the first time in the 2012 series against England. India lost the home series. They paired up for the last time against New Zealand before landing in Australia. India lost the series too. In between, India won every home Test series.
As a pair, their tally makes them the sixth most successful combination in history — on an average they took an incredible 10.12 wickets in every game they played. The next best Indian pair is that of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh with 501 wickets. They are 14th on the all-time list.
However, on his last day in international cricket, Ashwin didn’t break the news to his partner-in-arms until it was too late; too late to stop him.
“I got to know about the retirement at the last moment, five minutes before the press conference. It was shocking. We spent the whole day together, and he didn’t even give me a hint. I got to know at the last minute. We all know how Ashwin’s mind works,” Jadeja told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday.
You never realise the value of something until it’s gone, and now perhaps India will feel the absence but no one will feel it more than Jadeja, especially when they play at home.
“He is like my on-field mentor. We have been playing together for so many years. We kept passing messages to each other on the field regarding the match situation, what the batters are trying to do,” said Jadeja. “I will miss all this.”
When Rohit Sharma was once asked about what they meant to the Indian team, his answer revealed so much.
“You give them the ball and they get you those breakthroughs. With the bat, they get you crucial runs,” said Rohit in March 2023. “Where we stand today in terms of how we perform in Indian conditions, a lot of credit goes to them. A large part of our success belongs to those two guys. It’s not just for a period of a few years, it’s over a decade now. It’s a long, long time to keep performing the way these two guys have done for us.”
And that is the void India will need to fill. Jadeja will need to take more responsibility and perhaps mentor a whole new generation of spinners. This may mean Kuldeep Yadav will get more games or perhaps Washington Sundar will become a permanent fixture in the playing XI, but the trick will be to make each match count, just like Ashwin did.
“We just hope that we get a better all-rounder and bowler than Ashwin. It’s not like nobody can replace a player. Everyone goes, but you do get the replacement. We have to move on. In India, we always have good talents; it is not like anyone is irreplaceable. We will have to move on. It is a golden opportunity for any youngster,” he added.
Ashwin was once asked about what Jadeja brought to the partnership and the off-spinner spoke about how only in the last two-three years had he truly come to appreciate the left-arm spinner.
“He gives me a lot of freedom to be creative with the ball, credit to him,” Ashwin had said. “Jaddu keeps it really simple, he does not fret around or bother about what has happened.”
But perhaps this time, only this time, he will.
