Former England batter Geoffrey Boycott reserved huge praise for India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, labelling him as his favourite modern-day cricketer. Jadeja, during the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, became only the fourth player to complete the double of 4,000 runs and 350 wickets in Test cricket. He joined England’s Ian Botham, India great Kapil Dev and former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori on the elite list. Reacting to the feat, Boycott wrote on X: “My favourite present-day cricketer.”
My favourite present day cricketer https://t.co/Ep5wlaEgV8
— Sir Geoffrey Boycott (@GeoffreyBoycott) August 17, 2026
Jadeja also became the first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 wickets in the longest international format.
Jadeja achieved the feat on Day 3 of the first Test at the Galle International Stadium when he removed bowling all-rounder Keshara Nuwantha in the third session of the moving day.
The Indian iconic all-rounder got Nuwantha out with Shubman Gill taking the catch at covers after the Sri Lankan batsman tried whacking a ball towards covers but ended up hitting it to the thigh of an evading Yashasvi Jaiswal at silly point. The ball ricocheted towards Gill, who completed the catch.
In the process, Jadeja became the first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 wickets in the Test format, with former fast-bowler Zaheer Khan a distant second now with 311 wickets. The 37-year-old is also the fifth Indian overall to have taken 350 wickets, joining the likes of Anil Kumble (619), Ravichandran Ashwin (537), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417).
Jadeja is also the third left-arm spinner in the world to have achieved the milestone, joining the likes of Rangana Herath (433) and Daniel Vettori (362). In the process, he also achieved another significant record.
Jadeja is now only the fourth player in the history of Test cricket to have a double of 4000-plus Test runs and 350-plus Test wickets. Only Kapil Dev (5248, 434), Ian Botham (5200, 383) and Daniel Vettori (4531, 362) have achieved the milestone before him.
