Some greats don't always wear India jersey: Uthappa on Jalaj Saxena

Kerala spinner Jalaj Saxena created history by becoming the first-ever Indian cricketer to score 6000 runs and pick 400 wickets. Robin Uthappa reacted to the feat and said that some greats do not always get a chance to play for the Indian team.

In Short

• Jalaj Saxena created history in the Ranji Trophy
• Saxena has been a domestic stalwart
• The spin-bowling all-rounder debuted in 2005

India's domestic cricket stalwart Jalaj Saxena reached an incredible feat of 6000 runs and 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. On Wednesday, November 6, while playing against Uttar Pradesh, Jalaj completed this elite feat and became the first-ever Indian cricketer to achieve those numbers. Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa hailed the spin-bowling all-rounder and said that not all greats get to play for India.

The off-spinner achieved the historic feat during Day 1 of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy. With the dismissal of Nitish Rana, his fourth of the game, Jalaj reached the feat of 400 wickets. The 37-year-old got Rana stumped to complete the milestone. Saxena ran through the UP’s batting line up after Kerala skipper Sachin Baby won the toss and elected to bowl first.

"Some greats don’t always get to don the India jersey. But they leave a legacy nonetheless. One that leaves an impact on their teammates, young budding cricketers, and our domestic cricket circuit on the whole. Jalaj Saxena is one of those. Incredible achievement!"

On the day, Jalaj first cleaned up the opposition captain Aryan Juyal (23 off 57) and further dismissed Madhav Kaushik (13 off 58), Siddharth Yadav (19 off 25) and Rana to achieve the feat. He also went on to add one more wicket to his tally and registered 29th five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy history.

The Madhya Pradesh-born cricketer is the 13th player in Ranji Trophy to take 400 wickets. In the last season, he had become just the fourth player to score 9000 runs and 600 wickets across formats in domestic cricket. In the ongoing season, Saxena has scored 101 runs from two matches so far at an average of 50.50 with one half-century to his name.