Geoffrey Boycott reveals his favourite cricketer, picks Ravindra Jadeja over fab four

Legendary England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has named Ravindra Jadeja as his favourite present-day cricketer. The legendary England batter made the choice when asked to select from modern cricket’s elite players, overlooking several of the game’s biggest names in the process.

Michael Vaughan posed the question to Boycott on the Stick to Cricket podcast, offering the names of four batting greats as options. Boycott, however, chose to ignore those suggestions and instead picked the Indian all-rounder Jadeja for the honour.

“Jadeja, he bowls beautifully, his fielding is electric, and he can bat, gets his head down and bats properly. And he is a handsome so-and-so,” Boycott said in response.

Why Boycott chose Jadeja over the Fab Four

Boycott’s personal connection with Jadeja runs deeper than mere admiration for his cricketing abilities. The former England opener met the Indian all-rounder for the first time during a visit to India in 2025, an encounter that left a lasting impression on him.

“I met him for the first time recently. Last year I went to India, and I met him. I said, ‘You are my favourite cricketer’. He said, ‘No way’, and I said, ‘Definitely, ‘ he added.

Boycott’s assessment of Jadeja extends beyond his technical abilities to his character and demeanour. The legendary batter views the Indian cricketer as a complete package, combining skill with personality.

“Very handsome and a nice lad. Just a good cricketer, isn’t he? All-round cricketer,” Boycott said.

Jadeja’s elite Test cricket milestone

Jadeja’s all-round excellence in Test cricket has been remarkable and justifies Boycott’s admiration. In the recent Sri Lanka series, the Indian all-rounder became only the fourth cricketer and second Indian to amass 4,000 runs and 350 wickets in Tests.

He joined an elite group that includes Ian Botham, Daniel Vettori and Kapil Dev. Jadeja’s Test record stands at 91 matches, during which he has scored 4,160 runs, including six hundreds, while claiming 356 wickets.

He also made history during the two-match series against Sri Lanka, when he became the first-ever Indian to play 50 WTC matches.