Experienced Indian off-spinner R Ashwin is set to mark a milestone by playing his 100th Test match in Dharamshala against England on March 7. Ashwin recently achieved a remarkable feat by becoming only the second Indian bowler, after Anil Kumble, to take 500 Test wickets. This places him in the prestigious company of bowlers like Muthiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, and Nathan Lyon.
Anil Kumble Hailed R Ashwin Before His 100th Test Match
Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview for Hindustan Times, legendary Indian bowler Anil Kumble hailed Ashwin on achieving the milestone. Anil Kumble was asked if he sees shades of himself in Ashwin. Responding to this, Kumble said: “A lot of times,”
He added: “I guess even his career has been similar; he probably started later, I started a bit early. But otherwise, it pretty much mirrors some of the things I went through. In my view, he should have played his 100th much earlier. But for some reason, he hasn’t. No one is sure why he doesn’t get picked when India travel outside of the subcontinent. That’s a bit strange, something I always have been perplexed by. It did happen to me too, but his is very different. We tend to look at a fourth fast bowler (now) than somebody who is a match-winner, which is really strange. In my case at least, we were always playing four bowlers. But when you are playing five bowlers, then to not play your two best spinners is a bit, I don’t know, strange…”
Ashwin recently surpassed Anil Kumble as he became the fastest to complete 500 wickets. Ashwin is only the second Indian bowler to achieve this feat after Anil Kumble, who retired with a tally of 619 wickets.
Congratulating Ashwin on joining the 500-wicket club, Anil Kumble, who is the only Indian in that exclusive group said: “It’s nice that someone else has been able to get to that. Ash is still going strong, obviously he has all the ability to surpass (Kumble’s Indian record of 619 Test wickets). His ability to do exceptionally well as a match-winner, the consistency he has shown all these years, that’s a great hallmark. It’s not easy to do that. Especially in India, once you have raised the bar, to keep performing at that level isn’t easy.”
