India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin is regarded as a world-class spinner and his stellar show in the red-ball format speaks volume of the talent the 35-year-old possess. The carrom-ball specialist has so far played 84 Tests, in which he has picked 430 wickets at an average of 24.38. The spinner, who has been out of action since India's tour of South Africa, will return to the scene when Rohit Sharma's men take on Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series starting from March 4 in Mohali.
Ashwin will like to make his return more special as he is on the cusp of breaking a huge record, which will see him go past India's first World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev.
The 35-year-old currently stands third in the list of highest wicket-takers in Tests and stands four wickets far from reaching the number two position. India's legendary all-rounder Kapil has 434 scalps under his name from 131 matches.
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Meanwhile, in a recent interview Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne hailed Ashwin as a “tremendous thinker of the game”, which makes batting against the Indian relatively difficult as compared to others.
"The reason Ashwin's record is so good is because he's a tremendous thinker of the game. So, he's always thinking about how he can get you out. About what you are doing. And so what he's doing to counter that? And then he seems to go, "Ok now I'm going to change, so that you're going to do this." That's what makes him really good. Now, not all bowlers are like that," the Aussie batter told Cricbuzz in an interview.
{{/usCountry}}"The reason Ashwin's record is so good is because he's a tremendous thinker of the game. So, he's always thinking about how he can get you out. About what you are doing. And so what he's doing to counter that? And then he seems to go, "Ok now I'm going to change, so that you're going to do this." That's what makes him really good. Now, not all bowlers are like that," the Aussie batter told Cricbuzz in an interview.
{{/usCountry}}Labuschagne believes it is Ashwin's vast experience of playing in different parts of the world, which sets him apart from others.
“There are other bowlers who have really good deliveries and can bowl really well but that thinking of getting you out, that's an acquired skill. On some wickets, it's easy. Because you just need to put the ball there and the wicket will do the work. But I think Ashwin has played on plenty of wickets where he's had to create the work, he's had to create the angles, come tight or come wide. And that's why it's really good to play against guys like Ashwin. You obviously have to lift your game because he's lifted his game,” he further stated.