Ravindra Jadeja

Age: 37y 327d
Bats: Left-hand
Bowls: Left-arm orthodox
From: Navagam-Khed

Age: 37y 327d
Bats: Left-hand
Bowls: Left-arm orthodox
From: Navagam-Khed

Ravindra Jadeja, an all-rounder from Saurashtra, is a left-field success story in Indian cricket. Widely known by the nickname 'Sir', which began life largely as a joke at his expense, he endured a miserable 2009 World T20 and a difficult 2009-10 season, drawing heavy criticism from supporters at home. Through that period, captain MS Dhoni stood firmly behind him.

Jadeja then spent several low-key seasons on the domestic circuit, where his bowling accuracy stood out and his batting produced three triple centuries in first-class cricket. His Test debut came in a dead rubber during England's 2012-13 tour of India. He kept his place when Australia visited in early 2013 and, bowling in tandem with Ravichandran Ashwin, played a leading role as India completed a whitewash. Later that year he collected the Golden Ball as India won the Champions Trophy. The Ashwin-Jadeja pairing went on to become a key weapon in Tests, especially in home conditions, as India climbed to the top of the rankings.

White-ball cricket proved less smooth. Injuries and rule changes after the 2015 World Cup reduced his impact, and after the 2017 Champions Trophy, where India finished runners-up, both he and Ashwin lost their limited-overs places. Jadeja returned to the ODI side for the 2018 Asia Cup, and repeated injuries to Hardik Pandya in 2018-19 helped him secure a regular role, either batting at number seven or filling a spinner's slot. Valued for his fielding, fitness and lower-order hitting, he also grew into a dependable Test batter. He featured at the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup, retiring from T20Is soon after India took that title, and was part of India's 2025 Champions Trophy-winning squad.

In the IPL, Shane Warne, then leading Rajasthan Royals, identified his talent early and called him a 'Rockstar'. Jadeja later became a mainstay at Chennai Super Kings, spent the franchise's two-year suspension with a temporary Gujarat side, and was one of three players Chennai retained when they returned in 2018. After a 2021 season of 227 runs and 13 wickets, CSK paid INR 16 crore for him in 2022 and named him captain, but he passed the role back to Dhoni after 2 wins in 8 games and was then ruled out by a rib injury. In the 2023 final against Gujarat Titans, with 10 needed from 2 balls, he struck Mohit Sharma for a six and a four to win the title. He was retained by CSK ahead of the 2025 mega auction.