'That question mark is being answered nicely': Aakash Chopra names the 'absolute rockstar' of Indian team

India vs England: "I feel that he's an absolute Rockstar, one of the biggest match winners that India has ever produced," Chopra said.

The current Indian cricket team is nothing like the teams that have represented the country in the past. Unlike the previous era, the current Indian team is filled with match-winners from top to bottom. With the bat, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have changed the landscape of Indian batting while Cheteshwar Pujara has highlighted the art of batting in Test matches. With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah is one of the hardest to face, whereas all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has proved his mettle in international cricket.

Image of Aakash Chopra. (Instagram/Aakash Chopra)

When it comes to spinners, no one exemplifies the art better than R Ashwin, who could well stand out today as the best spinner in the world. Although Ashwin does not play limited-overs cricket, what he has done in Test matches is exemplary. He was effective with both bat and ball against Australia and is continuing the same vein of form in the home series against England. Such is his greatness that it has taken Ashwin only 77 Tests to reach the incredible feat of 400 wickets in the format, the second-fastest to the landmark behind the great Muttiah Muralitharan.

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra feels that although the great Anil Kumble will always be India's greatest match-winner, Ashwin is not behind. "78 Test matches for 400 Test wicket. Let the naysayers be. He's been absolute phenomenal with the craft that he has displayed over a period of time and as he's growing as a bowler; he’s picking a lot of wickets," Chopra said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

Ashwin has been on a phenomenal roll of late, picking up five-wicket hauls in two of the three England Tests played. He picked up 6/61 in the first Test in Chennai although his effort wasn't enough to save India the match. In the second game however, Ashwin sizzled with both bat and ball, picking up a match-haul of eight wickets and scoring a gritty century in India's second innings, helping the team win the game by 317 runs. In the third Test at Ahmedabad, although it was Axar Patel who did most of the damage, Ashwin wasn’t far behind taking seven wickets in the match.

"That question mark is also getting answered quite nicely. I feel that he's an absolute Rockstar. He's one of the biggest match winners that India has ever produced, of course Anil Kumble will still remain at No.1," Chopra explained.