Ravichandran Ashwin He further enhanced his reputation as one of the best spinners of his generation by entering the 500-wicket club on Friday (February 16). The player achieved an incredible feat on the second day of the ongoing third Test between India and England in Rajkot.
He achieved the feat by dismissing England opener Zak Crawley in the last session of the day. India They desperately needed a breakthrough after England’s openers gave their team another solid start and Ravichandran Ashwin came to the team’s rescue. As soon as Rajat Patidar caught short fine leg to send back Crawley, the veteran spinner became the second Indian bowler to take 500 Test wickets.
The first Indian bowler to achieve the feat was the legendary Anil Kumble. Among active cricketers, only James Anderson and Nathan Lyon have more wickets than the Tamil Nadu ace. After achieving this incredible milestone, Ravichandran Ashwin addressed the media in the post-day press conference and spoke about his journey in cricket.
Ravichandran Ashwin, the accidental spinner:
Speaking to the media, Ravichandran Ashwin claimed that taking 500 wickets in Tests is not a bad achievement for “an accidental spinner”. He revealed that he always wanted to become a batsman before his career changed once he performed well for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
“Not bad. Not a bad achievement. I was an accidental spinner.” said Ravichandran Ashwin.
“I always wanted to be a hitter. Life gave me a chance, and when I entered the CSK dressing room, Muttiah Muralitharan did not want to bowl with the new ball and finally the new ball was thrown at me.
“The first-class career was quite good, but still the IPL stint made me visible to a lot of people and I finally made my Test debut. People doubted he could be a Test bowler and yes, 10 or 13 years later, not bad. It’s not a bad achievement, so I’m very happy.” he added.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin withdrew from the rest of the ongoing Test due to a medical emergency in his family. He will not participate in the game again. Talking about the match, England were 207 for 2 at the end of the second day of play. Earlier in the game, India scored 445 runs in the first innings.