Ashwin has grown leaps and bounds as an all-rounder over recent years.
Veteran Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik heaped praise on R Ashwin after the legendary off-spinner's amazing performance in the ongoing first Test against New Zealand at Green Park in Kanpur.
Ashwin snared three wickets in the first innings to take his tally to 417 Test wickets and become the joint third-highest wicket-taker with Harbhajan Singh for India. The veteran also had two impressive knocks of 38 and 32 in both innings to play his part with the bat against New Zealand.
Following another all-round show in Kanpur, Karthik said that the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev should be spoken of in the same breath when it comes to Indian cricket, given their contribution to the side.
He also said that Ashwin and the 1983 World Cup-winning captain are definitely two of the best all-rounders the Indian cricket team have produced.
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Karthik said on Cricbuzz show: “Obviously, I don't think I am in a place to judge both of them, but I must admit that they should be spoken of in the same breath when it comes to Indian cricket because both of them have been match-winners, have been exemplary, and have been definitely the two best all-rounders to have come out of this soil for a long, long time.”
Backing his statement, Karthik has pointed out that Ashwin's numbers are good enough to call the off-spinner one of India’s best all-rounders while mentioning that not many cricketers have scored as many centuries as his Tamil Nadu teammate in Test cricket.
Ashwin, before the ongoing Kanpur Test, had 413 wickets and 2685 runs in 79 Tests for India. He has 5 centuries and 11 fifties to his name with the bat and seven 10-fers and 30 fifers to his name with the ball.
The right-hander further added, “You have to put him there (among India's best all-rounders) with the number of Man of the Series he has won, the accolades he has got obviously.”
He signed off by saying, “Getting 417 wickets in 80 Tests is an unbelievable record to have, and the fact that he's contributed and scored five hundreds, much more than a lot of the batters who play for a longer period of time in Test matches. There are people who have played 30-35 Tests, and still haven't managed five hundreds.”
Notably, Kapil Dev is regarded as one of the all-time greats of the game. He scored 5248 runs and 434 wickets in 138 Tests and 3783 ODI runs and 253 wickets in 225 ODIs. His record includes a total of eight Test centuries, one ODI hundred and 41 fifties (27 in Tests and 14 in ODIs) in international cricket.