Harbhajan Singh took 707 wickets, while Ashwin took 765 runs for India in international cricket.
Harbhajan began his international career in 1998 in his teens. Throughout, he was one of the world's top spinners, although his position as India's attack spearhead was only fully established for a small portion of that time.
His career began with the ascent of Anil Kumble and concluded with the dominance of Ravichandran Ashwin, both of whom won more accolades than Harbhajan.
“When I was playing, I had scolded a few broadcasters. I told them, like, what have you achieved in life that you are behind me? But after retirement, all those whom I felt were enemies, it never felt like they actually said anything bad about me. They were doing their job," Harbhajan said on JioHotstar’s ‘Cheeky Singles’.
Ashwin also talked about how his career was greatly influenced by criticism from former Indian cricket player and broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar.
After India's 2012 tour of Australia, Ashwin recalled a piece published by the ex-India cricketer. Manjrekar complimented Ashwin's bowling skills but also criticized his level of fitness, specifically how it affected his bowling and fielding.
Ashwin acknowledged that the article first made him feel wounded and furious, but he later took the criticism as inspiration to get better.
“I had messaged Sanjay Manjrekar once. After my first Australia tour, he had written a long article, and I read it completely while returning. After reading, I got angry; getting angry is one thing, but I felt very bad. I let it go. I used to not talk a lot to him either," Ashwin said.
Ashwin also added that in 2015, Manjrekar wrote another article, this time praising Ashwin’s bowling and fitness, after the spinner had worked very hard on improving both.
“Then I asked for his number and messaged him that your article back then changed my life. I always look at whether there is something to learn from criticism," Ashwin recalled.
Ashwin retired from international cricket in 2024 before calling time on his IPL career after the 2025 season, while Harbhajan retired from all forms of cricket in 2021.