The Indian cricket team has come a long way in terms of fielding. From being pushovers who would raise their hands for fielders in the deep to chase almost everything, they have become a group of stalwarts who throw their body at everything, saving precious runs, effecting run-outs and taking some glorious acrobatic catches.

 

This transformation came slightly under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, and majorly under former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who made India one of the best fielding sides in world cricket. Today, most fielders in India are at par with global standards, some even setting the benchmark. Amongst these are Virat Kohli and Ravinder Jadeja, few of the best fielders in the Men in Blue.

 

Choosing his favourite fielder between himself and Ravi Jadeja, Virat Kohli chose the prolific all-rounder over him.

 

Star Sports, on their official Instagram profile, asked, “If you had one shot at hitting the stumps to save your life, who would you choose to throw for you – Jaddu or Virat?:”

To this, Virat simply replied, “Jaddu. Everytime. End of debate.”

Jadeja is one of the best fielders the game has ever seen, with one of the best long-arm throws in world cricket currently. Added to his heroics on the field, he’s also a talented batsman and a regular wicket-taker. Captain Kohli remains in awe of Jadeja’s fielding exploits, given the comment on the social media platform.

 

Last year, Kohli had admitted that he was not the fastest in the team. After winning their maiden Day-night test against Bangladesh, Kohli had posted a photo on Twitter with Jaddu and Rishabh Pant with the caption, “Love group conditioning sessions. And when Jaddu is in the group, it’s almost impossible to outrun him”.

Earlier, India’s fielding coach R Sridhar had also heaped praise on Jadeja’s fielding skills. “He is someone who can keep the opposition on their toes with his fielding. He has an intimidating presence on the field,” Sridhar had said.

 

Virat, on the other hand, has always tried to raise the bar for himself and the entire team with sheer hard work and brevity both on and off the pitch in terms of fitness or fielding, the team follows and that has helped the entire side to up their game.

 

Both Kohli and Jaddu would be playing the IPL, but cricket all over the world has been indefinitely postponed due to the global outbreak of COVID-19.

 

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