Indian cricket team all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up about his rivalry with Ravindra Jadeja. He boldly claims that he is jealous of his teammate but has great respect for him.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been the backbone of the Indian team in Tests for the past decade. The two are competitive with each other and give their best for the team with both bat and ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja came out for the team in the recently concluded first Test against the Bangladesh national cricket team. Both came out at the most crucial moment when the team was under pressure. The home team was reeling at 144/6 and that was when the two joined hands.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja batted brilliantly, putting India in a dominant position with a 199-run partnership. While the off-spinner scored 100, the left-hander made 87.
With the ball, they combined to take wickets in a flash and taunted the Bangladesh batsmen. Jadeja took five wickets and Ashwin six, all in the second innings, as they helped India win the match by a massive margin of 280 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Ravichandran Ashwin was asked if he ever saw Jadeja as a rival in India. Answering, the all-rounder said that playing together always forces players to go one step ahead of each other. He mentioned that his respect for Jadeja has gone a step further because he knows that he cannot beat the all-rounder. In an interview with Jio Cinema, he explained:
“Sometimes, when you compete with fellow cricketers, even within the team, you want to outdo each other. It’s like brothers growing up arm in arm. And then slowly you start to respect each other.”
“Now the accolades have gone up a notch because I know I can never beat Jadeja. So I am comfortable in my own skin, but I am completely inspired by what he has done.”
I envy him but I respect him completely – Ravichandran Ashwin on Ravindra Jadeja
Ravichandran Ashwin further praised Ravindra Jadeja as a rocket fielder and said he has admired him a lot for the last 4-5 years. Talking about his career, he explained,
“Jadeja is a firework on the pitch. He’s a rocket on the pitch. So overall, I envy him. I envy him, but I totally respect him. I’ve learned to respect him in the last four or five years, and I respect him more than I did before.”
“He was a very inspiring story. When he came into the batting order in the last three or four years, I felt very calm and collected in the dressing room. It’s an inspiring story of how he found the off-stump and how he contributed,” he concluded.
