Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman heaped rich praise on off-spinner R Ashwin after he surpassed Harbhajan Singh's tally of 417 Test wickets. Time and time again R Ashwin has proved his mettle and his tally of more than 400 Test wickets depicts the kind of impact he has in the longest format of the game.
In the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, which ended in a draw, R Ashwin achieved yet another milestone as he went past Harbhajan Singh’s tally of 417 wickets to become the third-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket.
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The off-spinner achieved the milestone when he removed Tom Latham on the Day 5 of the Kanpur Test and ended the match with 6 wickets to his name. Ashwin now has 419 Test wickets in 80 matches and has taken wickets at an average of 24.49 and a strike rate of just over 52.
As Ashwin surpassed Harbhajan Singh's tally of wickets, he drew rich praises from many fans and pundits across the globe, who lauded him for displaying sensational skills and consistency over a long period of time.
VVS Laxman was also among the ones who lavished rich praise on R Ashwin for his milestone. The former Indian cricketer recalled when he first saw Ashwin in the Duleep Trophy 2018, he never felt that he was a Test match bowler as he used to bowl a tad faster.
He pointed out the R Ashwin only had an off-spin delivery in his arsenal at that time but now he has five to six different variations.
"The first time I saw Ravichandran Ashwin was in the 2008 Duleep Trophy, when we were playing against Central Zone. I never felt he was a bowler for Test match cricket. With the flatter trajectory and the fast speed he used to bowl, I felt he could play white-ball cricket but not Test matches.
“He developed variations. At that time, he just had an off-spinner and just used to use the crease. But if you see now, he has five or six options,” VVS Laxman said on Star Sports.
Laxman said that Ashwin used to put lot of effort and attention while practising and he has the mindset that needs to be there in every champion player.
He added that the off-spinner always kept on getting better and used his cricket smartness to a great extent which resulted in him getting so many wickets in his career till now.
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"But the way he put in the effort, used to give a lot of attention to practice, used to improve on his art in every session and the mindset that needs to be there in a champion player, Ashwin has that. Because of that, he kept on getting better.
"He has always been an intelligent player. He used his cricket smartness and because of that, he has taken so many wickets in his career till now,” he said.
R Ashwin is only behind Anil Kumble (619) and Kapil Dev(434) in the list of India’s leading wicket-takers in Test cricket.
(Star Sports inputs)
