Jadeja on 300 Test wickets: People called me white-ball cricketer, but I worked hard

Kanpur, Sep 30 (PTI) Ravindra Jadeja could not hide his delight after reaching the milestone of 300 wickets in Test cricket on Monday, expressing that the moment "will forever remain” with him.

Jadeja became the seventh Indian bowler to reach the coveted mark during the fourth day of the second Test against Bangladesh here.

The other Indian bowlers who have taken 300 Test wickets or more are: table leader Anil Kumble (619), R Ashwin (524), Kapil Dev (434), Harbhajan Singh (417), Ishant Sharma (311) and Zaheer Khan (311).

“It's special when you achieve something for India. I've been playing Tests for 10 years and finally I've reached this milestone. I've done well and I'm proud of myself, and feeling happy and good,” Jadeja told the host broadcaster.

Jadeja was particularly happy to achieve the mark because everyone used to dub him as a bowler exclusive to the white-ball formats.

“It's special and will forever remain with me. As a youngster I started with white-ball cricket and everyone used to tell me that I was a white-ball cricketer. But I worked hard with the red-ball and finally all the hard work has paid off,” said Jadeja.

India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel termed Jadeja a magician with the ball.

“Ravindra Jadeja is a complete package, and the guy has magic hands. Joining the 300-wicket club is special for him,” said Morkel during the post-day press meet here.

The 35-year-old left-arm spinner also had another reason to feel proud as on this day, he also completed the rare double of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Test cricket.

Having achieved this feat in his 74th match, Jadeja became the second quickest to complete the cherished double behind England great Ian Botham.

Jadeja hoped that India can pluck the remaining eight Bangladesh wickets and complete a 2-0 series sweep on the final day of the match on Tuesday.

Bangladesh were 26 for two in their second innings at stumps, still trailing India by 26 runs.

“As a batter I always try to give myself some time. I react to the ball and score accordingly. Now, it's time to take the eight wickets and chase the target, hopefully it won't be a big total,” he added. PTI