Former Australia skipper Ian Chappell reckons veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the best Test bowlers playing the game right now.

Speaking on the ESPNcricinfo programme 'Runorder', ex-India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar expressed his reservations on terming Ashwin as an all-time great by mentioning his overseas record and the recent exploits of Ravindra Jadeja and Akshar Patel but Chappell cited West Indies pace great Joel Garner's example to justify his stance.

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"When people start talking about him as being one of the all-time greats of the game then I have a few problems," Manjrekar said.

"One basic problem I have with Ashwin is that when you look at SENA countries, Ashwin doesn't have a single five-wicket haul there.

"And the other thing when you talk about him running through sides on Indian pitches that are suited to his kind of bowling is that in the last four years, Jadeja has matched him with wicket-taking abilities.

"Then, interestingly, in the last series against England, Akshar Patel got more wickets than Ashwin on similar pitches. So that is my problem with accepting Ashwin as a real all-time great," Manjrekar concluded.

Not convinced with Manjrekar's remark, Chappell pointed out that five-wicket hauls shouldn’t be considered a big factor while evaluating a bowler’s calibre.

"I would like to make a couple of points there — if you look at Joel Garner, I mean how many five-wicket hauls Joel Garner has? Not many, when you consider how good he was and his record. And why, because he was performing with three other very, very fine players," Chappell said.

"And I think, particularly of late, I find that the Indian attack has been so strong that the wickets are being shared around more.

"And the other point I would make is because of Ashwin's reputation I think the England players probably concentrated more on keeping Ashwin out and with Akshar Patel, well, let's be blunt about it, they didn't have a bloody clue," he added.

The Australian legend also rated Ashwin ahead of his compatriot off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

"I think Ashwin is a better bowler than Nathan Lyon. Have a look at Nathan Lyon's strike rate, you are in the 70s and I am going back to 2018.

"Nathan Lyon, to me, I think runs get scored through the onside when he is bowling to the right-handers and that really just shouldn't happen. Yes, he is a fine bowler but I think Ashwin is a better bowler," Chappell opined.

(With PTI inputs)