As India geared up for their first test series in 2024 at home soil versus the Bazball infused England team from 25th January 2024 in conquest to the top spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 table , all eyes were on experienced and veteran offspinner of India Ravichandran Ashwin. Indian ace off spinner on home pitches Ravichandran Ashwin has an impeccable record versus England and would had loved to continue the same in the upcoming series.
Ravichandran Ashwin was stranded on 499 wickets post Vizag Test was set to become second Indian spinner after legendary Anil Kumble (619 wickets) to become the second Indian spinner who will surpass 500 wickets mark in the upcoming match at Rajkot whenever he captures his first scalp in the third test match.
However since the first test which India lost till date in the ongoing second test Ravichandran Ashwin until the last day has not been able to stamp his authority over rampaging English batters in conditions where unlikely the previous tours pitches were even for both batter and bowlers.
As England newbie spinners Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed are amongst top wicket takers in the series it is to surprise that Indian top wicket taker is a fast bowler in Jasprit Bumrah with 12 wickets so far not Ravichandran Ashwin who has got 7 wickets till date in the series.
Ravichandran Ashwin reaches 500 Test wickets at Rajkot
Meanwhile a potential all rounder at number 8, Ravichandran Ashwin who started his first class and school age cricket as an opening batter for his home team Tamil Nadu, is no geek with the bat having an average of 23.69 in tests with a strike rate of 51.48 inclusive of 5 test centuries out of which one came in the last series versus the Englishmen at home in Chennai where he and the other century man Rohit Sharma on a sluggish Chennai wicket helped India won a match.
With the ball on Indian pitches versus any opposition over a decade now Ashwin has been a threat since his test debut in 2011 having taken over the mantle of Indian spin legacy from the likes of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh successfully. His bowling figures at home stands an impressive at 337 wickets from 55 matches only with a best of 7 for 59 inclusive of 26 five wickets haul and 6 ten wickets hauls in both innings of a test match.
Ashwin has an impeccable record versus the Englishmen at home and away and in this series requires just eight more wickets to become India’s leading wicket taker versus England in tests. In this series where records would galore for Ravichandran Ashwin, he could be the only second bowler to complete 100 wickets in India -England tests after James Anderson(139 wickets).
Also Ashwin requires only 13 wickets to complete 350 test wickets at home. In the process Ashwin can also become second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble (895) to deliver 600 maiden overs in Tests in India . With so many records in sight it is evident that Ravichandran Ashwin was supposed to be an be an impending threat on the English batters. Ashwin boasts a stellar record at home with 346 wickets in 57 Tests at a sensational average of 21.27, including 26 five-wicket hauls.
India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday became only the second Indian and ninth overall to take 500 wickets in Test cricket. Ashwin accomplished the landmark during the third Test against England in Rajkot, making him only the second Indian after the legendary Anil Kumble to take 500 Test wickets.
Ashwin needed one wicket to reach 500 wickets before the start of the third Test and the off-spinner completed the milestone in England’s first innings when he dismissed Zak Crawley for 15. Zak Crawley fell to a top edge while attempting a sweep from outside leg. Ashwin’s teammates gathered around him to offer their congratulations, marking him as only the second Indian to reach this illustrious milestone. It’s undoubtedly a moment for celebration, but there’s also the recognition that there’s still work to be done in the larger context of the game.
Ashwin also became only the second bowler after Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan to take 500 wickets in less than 100 Tests. Ashwin, who has been the fastest Indian to reach 50, 100, 150, 200, 350, 400 and 450 Test wickets, is also the fastest in the world to reach 250 and 300 Test wickets.
Ashwin’s journey to 500 Test wickets has been marked by a series of record-breaking achievements as the off-spinner set a world record by reaching 250 wickets in just 45 matches and continued his impressive form to reach 300 wickets in 54 matches. Ashwin’s relentless pursuit of excellence saw him reach 350 wickets in 66 Tests, and he secured his 400th wicket in his 77th Test match. By the time he played his 89th Test, he had already amassed 450 wickets.
Ravichandran Ashwin and his ever lasting hunger for more
There was an element of inevitability to R Ashwin’s 500th Test scalp in the ongoing Rajkot Test. That the milestone came only in his second over of the innings was a surprise twist, against the run of play. The wicket of Zak Crawley was a rare high point for the home team, whose bowling attack had been ruthlessly pummeled by the English batters, with centurion Ben Duckett leading the charge against the Indian bowlers.
Ashwin was no exception, he was milked for 37 in seven overs but that is not going to disappoint the 37-year-old spinner, now the second fastest in the world to the milestone in terms of the number of Tests (98) behind Muttiah Muralitharan (87) and the number of deliveries (25714) behind Glenn McGrath (25528). Knowing his bowling, Ashwin would like the batsmen to attack him. He himself would attack the batsmen as much. Bowling maidens is not his style.
A career average of over five wickets a Test and a strike rate of 51.4 makes him the best among Indian bowlers – Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah have slightly better strike rates, but the pacer doesn’t have half as many wickets as Ashwin does.
“By far he is the best among Indian bowlers and it is not without hard work and hunger for wickets. Every day, every innings, every match, and every practice session, he would try to do something new, ask questions, and explore new ideas,” says Bharat Arun, a former India bowling coach who worked with Ashwin for close to eight years.
“There were many conversations between us and he is never tired of trying new things, and experimenting. Sometimes, they come off, sometimes they don’t,”
Upgrading himself – both in terms of skills and fitness – is something constant in Ashwin, who ceaselessly strives for self-improvement. Those who have followed him say Ashwin was a different bowler when he went on the tour of Australia in 2021. During six months of the Covid-19 lockdown, he transformed himself, becoming fitter, smarter and hungrier. The pandemic did not stop his self-exploration.
In the series, he had left an instant impact with his bowling. In three Tests he had 12 scalps, silencing his critics that he would take wickets only in spin-friendly conditions. In the Melbourne Test, his five wickets were crucial to India’s win. More than the wickets, the impact he had created in that series was immense. Ravi Shastri reckons it was the best achievement by an Indian team overseas.
The quest for knowledge and newness is so ingrained in him that one evening he bowled 108 deliveries for his coach after bowling over 50 overs in a game. “It was a Duleep Trophy game in Chennai between South and West. Rahul (Dravid) was the skipper for South. Ash bowled 55 overs in that innings and I found him to be bowling the middle stump line. I called him to my nets that evening and he bowled 108 deliveries on the trot on the off-stump line I suggested,”
Sunil Subramaniam, a former Tamil Nadu spinner and a former India manager who coached Ashwin between 2007-14, recalls.
The general view about his bowling is that it was an incredible effort from an off-spinner to reach the milestone in so few matches. Normally a finger spinner is more restrictive than penetrative but Ashwin does not exactly fit that typecasting. He is both an off-spinner and as much an antithesis of it. A wrist spinner gets more revs on a delivery, something that is not possible for a finger spinner like Ashwin, but he makes up for that with his variations.
Muralitharan, the best off-spinner going by the numbers, used more wrist than fingers. The Sri Lankan also would use his body, just like Nathan Lyon and very unlike Ashwin, who relies more on fingers and shoulder. “Very dexterous wrist too,” says Subramaniam. “That is why he’s able to bowl all kinds of deliveries, like a carrom ball.”
One of the common things he relentlessly pursues is angles, varied points of release and degrees of turn off the pitch. In the current series, he delivers the ball from round the wicket, not very common for off-spinners who normally stick to the outside the off-stump line. It is his tactic to counter the Bazball style. On Friday, he would have liked to bowl earlier than he eventually did. When he was introduced, Duckett had already crossed his half-century.
Being an engineer, Ashwin would use his brain a lot for the angles, lines and turns. He is often known to intellectualize bowling. But try telling him that and he would not like to hear it. An intelligent cricketer, Ravichandran Ashwin accepts this record with a huge heart and speaks his heart out at the press conference at end of Day 2.
Ravichandran Ashwin speaks his heart out after completion of 500 test wickets
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has claimed that he hadn’t set a goal for himself to go past legendary spinner Anil Kumble’s record of 619 Test wickets. Ashwin dismissed Zak Crawley on Day 2 of the ongoing Test in Rajkot to take his tally to 500 Test wickets, becoming only the second Indian bowler and the ninth overall to achieve the feat.
Speaking in a press conference after the end of play on Day 2, Ravichandran Ashwin explained why he didn’t want to think too much about what lay ahead and why he wanted to enjoy his journey one day at a time:
“The very simple answer is ‘no’… 120 wickets away. Every day is what I want to live for, and, I’m 37 years old. I don’t know what’s in store next. What’s in store for the next two months?” You play this series and then what lies ahead, you really don’t know. I don’t want to really jump the gun. I’ve kept it this way for the last 4-5 years and it’s been very simple and it’s worked for me. Why change anything that’s working for you?”
Ashwin did pick up a wicket but conceded 37 runs in his seven overs as he was among the many Indian bowlers who couldn’t stop Ben Duckett’s carnage. The southpaw is unbeaten on 133* off just 118 balls at Stumps on Day 2.
Ravichandran Ashwin claims himself to be an accidental spinner for India
Ravichandran Ashwin also claimed that he always wanted to become a batter and that off-spin wasn’t his primary skill. He rose to fame at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL as a new-ball bowler.
Opening up on how he got that role, Ashwin stated:
“It’s been a very long journey. I don’t exactly know where to begin because I was an accidental spinner. I wanted to be a batter all along. Life gave me a chance. When I walked into the CSK dressing room, Muttiah Muralitharan didn’t want to bowl (with) the new ball and eventually I got tossed the new ball,”
He further added:
“I had a reasonable first-class (cricket) start to my life. (The) first-class career was pretty good. But nevertheless, the stage in the IPL made me made me visible to a lot of people and I eventually got my Test debut. People doubted me whether I could be a Test bowler and 10-13 years later… not bad, not a bad achievement. I’m pretty glad,”
Ravichandran Ashwin also believes that the Rajkot pitch could remain great for batting if the cracks do not open up. England have already posted 207/2 and trail by 238 runs, with Duckett and Joe Root to resume play on Day 3.
With the third test at Rajkot held at balance after end of Day 2 , Ravichandran Ashwin having completed 500 test wickets was supposed to be the key for India over next 3 days but an unfortunate family incident has forced the Indian offspinner to leave the test match midway. It would be now interesting how India now without the services of Ravichandran Ashwin over next 3 days manages to bounce back and take a 2-1 lead over England before going to Ranchi for the 4th Test.