Courtesy: BCCI/X
Ravichandran Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner, became the highest Test wicket-taker for the Men in Blue in Asia after breaking the long standing record of Anil Kumble. During the second Test match at the Green Park in Kanpur, when the 37-year-old trapped Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto in front of the stumps for an lbw, it was his 420th wicket in Asia in Test cricket, going past former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble, and only Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan is ahead of him in the list of most Test wickets in Asia.
Before arriving to play the Kanpur Test, Ravichandran Ashwin was in sensational form with both bat and ball, playing a key role in a 280-run win for India against Bangladesh in hometown of Chennai in the first Test. He had scored his sixth Test hundred in India’s first inning before taking six-wicket haul in the second innings of Bangladesh, for which he was adjudicated as the player of the match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Ravichandran Ashwin has 420 Test wickets in Asian conditions
Due to rain curtailing the first day’s play in the second Test at the Green Park to just 35 overs, which led to Bangladesh putting up 107/3 on the board, Ravichandran Ashwin could only bowl nine overs in his spell, but it was enough for him to dismiss Najmul Hossain Shanto. It made him the highest Test wicket-taker among all the Indian bowlers in Asia, putting him only behind in the list for all bowlers in the world
Below is the list of bowlers with most wickets in Test cricket in Asia:
Muttiah Muralitharan - 612 wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin - 420 wickets
Anil Kumble - 419 wickets
Rangana Herath - 354 wickets
Harbhajan Singh - 300 wickets
The remarkable number of wickets for Ravichandran Ashwin in Test cricket, most specifically in Asia, highlights his quality as one of the greatest spinners of all-time. It also showcases his consistency at the highest level for more than a decade, which has seen the Indian cricket team reach new heights in Test cricket.
