Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up about his long-standing bowling partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, explaining how he understood his teammate's
strengths and limitations to make their combination more effective. The veteran off-spinner revealed that while Jadeja was naturally gifted, he initially lacked the understanding of how to consistently dismiss batters.
Ashwin and Jadeja formed one of the most successful spin-bowling partnerships in Test cricket. The duo played 58 Tests together, combining to take 587 wickets. Ashwin accounted for 317 dismissals, while Jadeja claimed 270.
Speaking on the podcast Baith & Bol with Aakash Chopra, Ashwin explained that their contrasting approaches to spin bowling helped them complement each other. While Jadeja relied heavily on accuracy, control and consistency, Ashwin often experimented with his variations and different methods of dismissing batters.
“I know his limitations well," Ashwin said in the podcast.
“Very few can bring him out of those limitations. I was one of them. His biggest strength: naturally gifted. If he has a bad day, you just tell him your effort is fine; tomorrow will be better. His action was simple, release point simple, tappa so good—he doesn’t have to think. He didn’t know how to dismiss batsmen—I’m saying he absolutely didn’t know. But his skill to choke batsmen was intertwined with his skill. You can’t sweep him—trajectory is low. You can’t step out—airspeed is good. You can’t play defense without doubting if the ball would remain the same."
Ashwin explains how Jadeja's consistency helped him take wickets
One of the aspects Ashwin highlighted was Jadeja's reluctance to flight the ball or reduce his pace, even when the conditions called for a different approach. The former India spinner admitted that he often tried to convince Jadeja to experiment more with his bowling, but those changes did not always produce the desired results.
According to Ashwin, Jadejawas at his most effective when he stuck to his natural strengths. His accuracy and ability to maintain pressure made it difficult for batters to score freely, often forcing them into risky shots.
Ashwin eventually realised that Jadeja's economical bowling created opportunities for him to attack from the other end. While Jadeja kept things tight, Ashwin could experiment with his variations and look for wickets. This understanding also made it more difficult for opposition batters to settle against the pair.
“When I understood that, my respect for Jadeja doubled—what he does is not easy. I have seen many skillful spinners, but the repetitive nature- keeping the ball there at the same speed is very difficult. Spinning the ball at that speed is not easy," he said.
'I used to feel very jealous': Ashwin on Jadeja's natural abilities
Ashwin also spoke candidly about how Jadeja's natural abilities sometimes left him envious. While he never begrudged his teammate's success, he admitted that he often wondered how dominant he could have been if he possessed the same natural talent.
Jadeja's abilities extended beyond bowling. Ashwin pointed to his exceptional fielding, athleticism, batting technique and power-hitting, explaining that the all-rounder seemed to possess almost every skill without having to work extensively on it.
When Chopra asked him to elaborate on his feelings of jealousy, Ashwin explained how Jadeja's natural talent stood out even among highly skilled cricketers.
“A person who doesn’t experiment in the nets, but if you give him the ball, he’ll land on tappa, good speed, rotation, takes catches in the field, runs like a bullet, moves like silk, connects every second direct hit, has every batting shot, power, skill, defense against spinners, developed against fast bowlers, scored 300 in Ranji Trophy. It was all natural! However much we’d work hard to get close to him, his skill was still bigger. I often thought if I had that skill, I’d rule the world. But it is what it is. He was so skillful that he didn’t have to think much."
Ashwin's comments offer an interesting perspective on one of India's most successful spin partnerships. Rather than trying to make their bowling styles identical, the two understood how their individual strengths could complement each other and trouble opposition batters.
