Ravindra Jadeja is just two wickets away from a major Test landmark, while Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav are also within touching distance of significant milestones as India prepare for their Sri Lanka series.
Key Factors
Jadeja could enter an elite club when India begin their upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. The milestone could also put Jadeja in an exclusive group of Indian all-rounders. Jadeja is currently India’s fifth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. Jadeja is not the only Indian player approaching a major landmark. However, Gill’s availability for the series is currently in doubt after he suffered an injury during practice. With the first Test still a week away, the India captain has time to recover. Gill is also chasing another significant record in the World Test Championship. If he gets there, he will become the first Indian to achieve the landmark. Kuldeep Yadav is another Indian player on the verge of history. With India set to play a two-Test series in Sri Lanka, Kuldeep will have an opportunity to complete the landmark in Asian conditions. Jadeja, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav are the three players from that series who remain part of India’s current Test setup. However, the upcoming assignment will mark a new chapter for the Indian Test side, with Gill leading the team. Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi and Sarfaraz Khan.
The veteran all-rounder currently has 348 wickets from 89 Tests, along with 4,095 runs. With just two more scalps, Jadeja will complete 350 Test wickets in the longest format. If he reaches 350 wickets, he will become only the third Indian all-rounder to register at least 3,000 Test runs and 350 wickets, joining Ravichandran Ashwin and Kapil Dev. Anil Kumble leads the list with 619 wickets, followed by Ashwin (537), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417). India captain Shubman Gill currently has 2,969 Test runs and needs just 31 more to complete 3,000 runs in the format. The batter needs 157 runs to reach 3,000 WTC runs. The wrist-spinner has taken 249 international wickets in Asia across 141 innings and needs just one more wicket to reach 250. India’s previous Test series in Sri Lanka came in 2017, when the visitors completed a 3-0 whitewash.
