Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav are the toughest batters I have bowled to in IPL: Chris Jordan [Exclusive]

Published - 03 Jan 2026, 18:30 IST | Updated - 03 Jan 2026, 18:31 IST

During an exclusive interview with CricTracker, England pacer Chris Jordan analysed some of the finest spells he has bowled in his illustrious career, both in the IPL and international cricket. The 37-year-old, who has played eight Tests, 35 ODIs, and 95 T20Is for England, urged youngsters to focus on playing the red-ball format, explaining how it will help them perform well in limited-overs cricket.

Jordan was asked to name the toughest batter he bowled to during his IPL career. The right-arm seamer picked Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav, two cricketers he has played with and against in the cash-rich league. When asked to name the most difficult venues to bowl at in the IPL, Jordan picked the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

It was a really special day for a couple of reasons. First of all, when you put on an England shirt, it's always a very proud moment. But more so, it was in a World Cup game. And it was also in the country of my birth, as well, Barbados, one of my favourite grounds in the world. Once we got into the game, the USA had been playing some good cricket throughout the tournament. So, we knew it was an important game in terms of our qualification for the semi-final at the time.

And, when I kind of got one, and then I got two, yeah, I just tried to make sure that at least the ball was on target. And luckily, I was able to get it clean bowled. Previously in international cricket, I had been on two hat-tricks. And both times, I kind of just missed the stumps, missing leg stumps slightly. So, I just wanted to make sure it was on target for this one. And, luckily, it came off on that day.

I don't know about invincible. But I mean, I guess it's a situation that I bowl in a lot in terms of bowling in the depth phase of games. So, I just tried to get in the zone and focus on execution. And yes, as I said on that day, luckily, I was able to pick up a few wickets and finish off the innings.

Yes, well, obviously, I think we played in Guyana. India, a very, very strong team, as everyone knows. And they obviously went on to win the tournament that year. So, I guess from that point of view, in terms of losing to the team that ended up winning, it wasn't so bad. But I think on that day, I actually think we got a little bit of our planning wrong, especially myself. But as I said, at the back end of the innings, I was able to be on a hat-trick again.

Obviously, I didn't get it on that occasion. Hardik played a brilliant innings. Surya played a great inning as well. But I think looking back on it, we would have liked to have restricted them to a slightly lower total, given the nature of the wicket. But yes, it wasn't to be. But I was just happy I was able to contribute in that moment.

I think when I was maybe about 19 years old, I got a couple of stress fractures in my back. And I missed the entire 2010 season of County Cricket. And I really did some soul-searching then. And I really dug deep to figure out, OK, what is it that is required to, one, stay on the park, but two, have that longevity? And I think in that moment, I really had a mindset shift to really make a big focus on my body and my conditioning so that I can remain on the park as long as possible.

Obviously, as a cricketer, as you go through your career, it's impossible to go through your career without getting injuries, especially as a fast bowler. But it's about the time that you actually have to recover from those injuries. So once your body is in good condition and you have that mindset and you make training and stuff a real lifestyle, even when you do get injured, let's say your diagnosis is two weeks, you can maybe trim that down to one week just because your conditioning and your body and your mental state is so good.

I think, to be honest, I think most of the credit for that game goes to the batsman. I don't know if you remember that game. It was a green game and both Virat and AB got hundreds. And it was honestly one of the most incredible innings from a pair of batsmen that I've ever seen in T20 cricket. And the innings had everything. It had power. It had touch. It had good running between the wickets. And we all know it's well documented that Virat and AB's relationship is so great, not only on the field, but off the field as well. And whenever them two were batting, the understanding that they had with each other was a different level.

But as I said, I just remember that innings having everything from dexterity to style, touch, power and good professionalism in the running between the wickets. But I'd say that it definitely got set up by those two players because the amount of runs we were able to put on the board, it meant that Gujarat had to come out and play a lot of shots to try to come after us. And luckily, I was able to capitalise on that day and pick up a few wickets.

I'd say I definitely had a great time at all the franchises that I played for in multiple ways, whether it be city or management or backroom staff or the entire running of the organisation. I don't think it's fair to necessarily be in a position where I compare them all in a sense, but I'd say at different points, I enjoyed different things about all of them. And I think the fortunate thing for me being able to play for so many franchises is that I was able to meet some great people and create some good and lifetime friendships along the way. So, I'm very grateful for all the opportunities.

It feels like a long time ago now, but yeah, I do remember that final very vividly. Obviously, that season, I think we were averaging maybe 200 runs with the bat for that entire season. The Bangalore wicket, the Chinnaswamy wicket was an amazing wicket that season. And I think it slightly surprised us when SRH won the toss and batted first, you know, because it was a real chasing ground. I think we restricted them to maybe two or five in the end.

But yeah, I was quite obviously pleased that I was able to pick up, I think, two or three wickets in that game. And as we know, Yuvi's an amazing player and an amazing death hitter, and he really tends to put bowlers under pressure. So, I think in that moment, to be able to get that wicket, it probably potentially saved us maybe 10, 20 runs at the back end as well.

I've obviously played with Virat and against Virat. I played with Surya and against Surya. It's really tough to say, but I'd say back in that time, bowling at the Chinnaswamy and I'd say maybe bowling at the Wankhede as well are two of the toughest grounds to bowl at and toughest grounds to defend, you know, because the ball really flies there. And especially for the home crowd, the home crowd is so amazing and they really get behind their team and stuff. So, I'd say the Chinnaswami and the Wankhede are probably two of the toughest venues to bowl at and probably Virat and Surya are two of the toughest batsmen to bowl at as well.

Yeah, like I touched on before, it was a huge turning point in my career, especially from a mental and physical point of view, because I just tried to make a promise to myself that if nothing else, I'll try to make sure that I do everything in my power to be on the park. So, it really helped me to understand my body and what's required to have longevity at this level. From a robustness point of view and a conditioning point of view. So, definitely that stress fracture back in 2019 was a big turning point for me in my career, especially from a mental point of view and a body point of view.

I think the biggest thing I'd say is definitely stay involved in the longer format for as long as possible, because what the longer format for a fast bowler does, it gets good volume in the legs, but also it allows you to understand your action and repeat your action, especially for your stock delivery. Because, I mean, in T20 cricket, we talk a lot about the variations and yorkers and slow balls and stuff, but if you check it, there's always a period in a T20 game where it just requires good test match bowling. And you need to be able to have that skill set as well.

But what I'd say is if you can stay involved in the longer format for as long as possible, so that your body's conditioned, because if you can play the longer format, you can play T20 cricket easily from a conditioning and body point of view, but also from a skill level in terms of making your action as repeatable as possible so that then you can go through your variations after that.

I think it can go both ways, for sure. Because sometimes if you get pigeonholed as predominantly playing T20, you could get overlooked a bit in ODI cricket and maybe Test cricket. But equally, there's a lot of cricket players these days, you know. And had not for maybe one of my injuries and stuff that I had with my arm, I probably would be still very, very much trying to play in the longer format as much as possible, you know.

Because it's a format that I really enjoyed. Because I'm always involved in the game, I used to feel that slip. I used to bowl my overs and I used to bat seven, eight, you know. So I always felt as though I was switched on and involved in the game. And as I said, I would tell any young player to make sure that he continues to aspire to play the longer format as much as possible.

Jordan feels Root has potential of surpassing Sachin's tally

The best piece of advice that I received from a senior player... Some of the best advice actually is to genuinely believe in what you do and what you can do and how you can impact a game. Obviously, we know IPL is well documented. It's one of the toughest, if not the toughest T20 tournament in the world, Not only because of the size of the crowd, but the quality of players and also very challenging conditions.

And sometimes with all those things factored in, it can create doubts and stuff in your mind, like any cricketer would tell you, or they may not tell you, but I'm keeping it real. So, I'd say the best piece of advice is, obviously, try to stay as true to yourself as possible and have real belief in your own ability.