The Saurashtra Cricket Association on Thursday congratulated all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for being named by Wisden as Indias Most Valuable Player in the 21st century. The 31-year-old’s MVP rating, which was calculated using the cricket data analysis tool CricViz, was 97.3.
Additionally, the rating made Jadeja the second most valuable player of all time in Test cricket according to the analysis, only behind Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan.
In a release, the SCA said: “Everyone at Saurashtra Cricket Association heartily congratulates Saurashtra’s super lion Ravindra Jadeja on being felicitated by Wisden as Most Valuable Test Player of the 21st Century.”
Jaydev Shah, President of Saurashtra Cricket Association, while congratulating Ravindra Jadeja expressed, “Ravindra has the phenomenal talent and is one of the most reliable cricketers in all formats. He is amazing with ball and bat, and also as a fielder. He has many times been a game-changer in international as well as domestic cricket.”
Jadeja reacted to the news on Twitter. “Thank you Wisden India for naming me the ‘Most Valuable Player’. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind,” he tweeted.
Jadeja is a regular in the Indian limited-overs and Test sides since 2000 but has rarely featured in conversations about India’s most valuable player, a title that had initially been reserved for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Virender Sehwag and later on M.S. Dhoni and current captain Virat Kohli.
Jadeja has 213 wickets in Test cricket and has scored 1869 runs at an average of 35.26. He has taken nine five-wicket hauls and also scored a century. In ODIs, Jadeja has 187 wickets and scored 2296 runs.
