Another Tendulkar record in Kohli's sights, Ashwin eyes Kumble's haul: Milestones IND seniors could topple in BAN series
India's senior players could break several records and reach some major milestones in the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.
The two-match series against Bangladesh marks a return to Test cricket for India after six months. It is also the beginning of a run of 10 Test matches and this means fans can expect some of India's seniormost players to rewrite a few big records. Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, in particular, are at that stage of their careers where the efforts they have put in over the years have brought them on the cusp of toppling some big milestones time and again in Test cricket. The same can be said about captain Rohit Sharma, even though his Test career picked up only after 2019.
Here we take a look at some of the biggest milestones that India's senior players could realistically achieve in the series against Bangladesh:
Virat Kohli: The former India Test captain currently sits at 29 Test centuries. He could thus become the fourth Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar to get to 30 centuries in Test cricket. Additionally, he would equal the century tally of the legendary Don Bradman. Kohli has scored 26,942 international runs thus far and is thus 58 runs away from becoming the fastest to 27,000 international runs. Kohli has played 591 innings thus far while Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record, made it there in 623 innings.
Ravichandran Ashwin: India's premier Test spinner had become the second Indian after Anil Kumble to cross 500 wickets the last time India played a Test series. This time, he will realistically go past Courtney Walsh's career tally of 519 Test wickets, being just three wickets away from it before the start of the first Test. However, if he manages a ridiculous haul of 22 wickets in the two Tests, something that one can't put beyond Ashwin's capabilities, he could match Anil Kumble's for most international wickets in India.
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Ravindra Jadeja: Jadeja could become the third Indian after the legendary Kapil Dev and his long-time spin partner Ashwin to score 3000 runs and take 300 wickets. The 35-year-old currently has 294 wickets to his name, taken in just 72 Tests at an average of 24.13. He has scored 3036 Test runs at an average of 36.14 with four centuries and 20 half-centuries.
Rohit Sharma: The Indian captain has become arguably the best Test opener in the world since first playing in that role in 2019. Rohit is just seven sixes away from going past Virender Sehwag's record for most sixes by an Indian in Test cricket. Sehwag had hit 91 sixes in his prolific 104-Test career. Rohit, incredibly enough, could go past that mark in just his 60th Test if he does it at the Chepauk Stadium. Rohit is also two centuries away from becoming the third Indian to 50 international tons. He has scored 48 centuries thus far (12 in Tests, 31 in ODIs and five in T20Is).