The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently went on the social media site X to announce Ravindra Jadeja as the longest-standing No. 1-ranked all-rounder in Test cricket history. BCCI stated Jadeja has held the top rank for 1,152 consecutive days, which they deemed a world record.
Ravindra Jadeja’s Considerable Consistency
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Ravindra Jadeja has been a vital part of the Indian Test side since his debut against England in Nagpur on December 13, 2012. He has played 80 Tests to date. Jadeja is also the No. 1 ICC Test all-rounder following his achievement of being the highest-ranked player on March 9, 2022, where he had 400 points to surpass Jason Holder of the West Indies.
The ICC’s Historical Data Says Different. Nonetheless, a glance at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) official rankings and historical data challenges BCCI’s claim of setting records. As per the ICC’s full ranking records, Jacques Kallis of South Africa held the No.1 Test all-rounder for a much longer period.
Jacques Kallis’ Streak
Held the top spot from December 19, 2006, to December 19, 2011
Total duration: 1,827 days (over 5 years)
Also ruled alone from 12th March, 2002 to 3rd May, 2005 (1,149 days)
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These records comfortably surpass Jadeja’s ongoing 1,152-day reign, and it would seem that the BCCI has overlooked Kallis’s statistics.
Garfield Sobers’ Record Streak Pre-ICC Rankings
The ICC officially started publishing rankings in 1987, though it has also retrospectively ranked earlier players using the model. According to this process, West Indies great Sir Garfield Sobers has the longest recorded span as the No.1 Test all-rounder:
Duration: February 20, 1962, to March 10, 1974
Total days: 4,402, an unparalleled record of 12 years
This also negates the idea that Ravindra Jadeja’s ongoing streak is the longest in Test history.
Final Decision: Jadeja’s Record Isn’t Longest
There is no doubt that Ravindra Jadeja deserves credit for being the world number-one Test all-rounder since March 2022, but to claim that it was a world record is misleading when compared to numbers for the likes of Jacques Kallis and Sir Garfield Sobers. Unless the ICC changes its stance or revises its historical list, Jadeja’s achievement, magnificent as it is, cannot constitute a world record.
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