JADEJA'S ALL-ROUNDER JASMINE : CRICKET INDIA

New Delhi : Jadeja hailed as a great all-rounder. He received great praise after scoring 175, and bagging nine wickets in a win over Sri Lanka.

Ravindra Jadeja was hailed recently as one of the best all-rounders after his swashbuckling unbeaten 175 with the bat and nine-wicket haul with the ball propelled India to a first Test victory over Sri Lanka inside three days.

The left-hander's match defining knock in Mohali, his best in Tests, and figures of 5-41 and 4-46 with his left-arm spin saw Sri Lanka crushed by an innings and 222 runs on Sunday.

Former Indian pace bowler Irfan Pathan tweeted : ''Best spin bowling all rounder? Certainly, no one comes close to @imjadega at the moment!''

New captain Rohit Sharma said that Jadeja gave balance to the team to give him more batting with his array of skills.

''To me he is one of the top all-rounders,'' Rohit said and added that he hoped to give him more opportunities.

Jadeja, 33, is currently third in the ICC rankings for Test all-rounders behind compatriot Ravichandran Ashwin and number one Jason Holder of the West Indies.

Back in 2008, Australian legend Shane Warne, who died suddenly on Friday aged 52, had called the rookie Jadega a ''rockstar'' when they played together for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

''We were just coming out of U19s and share the dressing room with Warne was a huge thing,'' Jadeja said, paying tribute to the leg-spinner who took 708 Test wickets.

''He gave me a huge platform and post U19, it was a direct entry into the IPL.''

Former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted Sunday : '' 'The Rockstar' as Warney named him is having some game in his memory ...... Fantastic.''

Former India batting great VVS Laxman, now head of the National Cricket Academy, said that Jadeja had been ''spectacular with both bat and ball, proving once again why he is arguably the top all-rounder in the world.'' [AFP]