Former India player Ravichandran Ashwin has made an honest yet startling confession regarding Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja has reinvented himself with the bat. His form in 2025 has been remarkable, building
on successes from the England series earlier in the year.
Yet, amidst the milestones, Jadeja publicly admitted to missing Ravichandran Ashwin - the partner with whom he formed one of India's most feared spin duos. The now-retired Ashwin responded with trademark humour, teasing his former teammate about the effect his absence might have on Jadeja's numbers.
"Usne jo wicket liye hain, usmein se mein 2-3 nikaal leta (I would have taken 2-3 wickets from his tally). He shouldn't be missing me, what advantage is there he should be taking," Ashwin said in his YouTube channel recently.
On a serious note, Ashwin acknowledged Jadeja's sustained excellence and growth in stature, praising him as one of the modern greats in Test cricket.
"Really happy for him, the way he is batting, the way he is becoming a bonafide legend of Test cricket," said Ashwin.
He also sympathised with the challenges of being one of the last remaining figures from the old guard in a changing dressing room.
"After listening to Jadeja, I know he was showing his affection for me. More than anything else, I think he doesn't have too many people to talk to. All the new boys now. The small-small talk between us, we can have when we reach a position of super-seniority, but you have to think before doing it with the newer boys. If I say this to him, how will he judge me?" explained Ashwin.
Ashwin related the experience to his own adjustment after Cheteshwar Pujara's retirement, recalling how those long-standing bonds sometimes leave a gap.
"Happened to me when Pujji retired as well, we sit together and talk about something, you miss that person. I know what Jadeja was saying, but we will meet and talk some time," he assured, signalling that the camaraderie between India's spin twins remains intact beyond the boundary.
Jadeja's contemporaries have broadly left the Test whites for India. Apart from Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also called it quits in the longest format of the game.
