Even though Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in the history of the game, has himself set the record by saying that if anyone can truly break his record, it has to be Ravichandran Ashwin, and yet it is something that a lot of people talk about. Few people may agree. 800 wickets in Test cricket is still seen as an impossible record, akin to landing on the moon in the last century.
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So, Ashwin may not be the greatest offspinner realistically, at least statistically. Even the tag of the greatest Indian bowler of all time will be tough for Ashwin as there is the incomparable Anil Kumble with 618 Test wickets. However, all is not over for the Chennai-born player and he can still make a special place in this stats-driven social media world where a legend is often rated only on pure numbers.
If you go by his astounding strike-rate in this regard, the spinner can surely end his career with the highest man-of-the-series awards. He is the only player in the history of the game to have won more player-of-the-series awards than player-of-the-match awards (8).
Against the No. 1 Test team in the world, Ashwin finished the two-match series with 14 wickets and won the 9th Man of the Series award of his illustrious career. At the same time, he also equaled the record of Jacques Kallis of South Africa, who is undoubtedly the best all-rounder of the modern era. Still, one had to get his 9th player-of-the-series award for someone as skilled as Kallis’s 166 matches, while Ashwin got there in only 81 matches.
It also means that the 35-year-old needs only two more player-of-the-series awards in the next 15 series (if all remaining 45 matches are played in three matches) to become the highest such award-winning player in Test history. series of ). The holder of most player-of-the-series awards belongs to Muralitharan (11) but of all the staggering records of the former Sri Lankan magician, it is unlikely to stand the test of time as long as Ashwin is playing .
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Of course, that is a story for another day, but just imagine how much newsprint, TV programming and internet pages would have been devoted to that player if a similar feat was achieved by an Indian batsman. For his five player-of-the-series awards, the former India Opener Virender Sehwag played 104 Tests and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record 200-match career also saw the same number of player-of-the-series awards in his career.
It is surprising to know that apart from Ashwin, there is not a single Indian in the top 11 who has won the highest number of awards in their respective careers and yet rarely has Ashwin been praised for such a huge achievement. A closer look at Ashwin’s record will also reveal yet another compelling statistic that tells you that Imran Khan (88 Tests), Richard Hadlee (86 Tests) and Shane Warne (145 Tests) are compared to Ashwin for their eight players. I had to play more matches. -of-the-series awards in their respective careers.
Ashwin also scored an incredible 300-wicket haul in India in the home series against New Zealand, but it is also often used as a compliment to the left-hander by his critics who often argue – ‘if you get that many wickets’ If you take it, then what is the big deal in India?’ However, no one will say anything against Stuart Broad, who has taken 341 wickets in England and is in the elite club of 500 Test wickets or more.
The time has come for the world to accept Ashwin’s talent unreservedly. A man who has rediscovered himself in white-ball cricket and continues to grow in red-ball cricket despite being sure of his place in the Hall of Fame list. While Ashwin is not often credited for his amazing bowling feats, this is also evident in his appreciation of getting 50 wickets in a calendar year, which is probably the batting equivalent of getting five tons by a batsman in the same time frame. Ashwin has done it the most times which is four and the most by an Indian. Among his contemporaries, Kohli has scored five Test centuries only twice in a calendar year.
Of course, cricket is essentially a batsman’s game and most of the time it is the one who is in the limelight, and yet when someone like Ashwin continues to create staggering records after another, your admiration for that player. It’s hard not to. He is indeed the Man of the Series Man of India and has the potential to become the Man of the Series Man of Test cricket in future!
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