Ravichandran Ashwin is considered to be one of the best spinners in Test cricket at the moment. So when Sanjay Manjrekar opined that Ashwin was not one of the ‘all-time greats’ in his book, it caused a furor on social media. Many cricketers responded on the matter with Curtly Ambrose being the latest one.
“We all have our different opinions. We all look at greatness in a different way. Sanjay Manjrekar was a wonderful cricketer in his time. He has his opinion on that, we all do. But, how do you define greatness? That is a good question,” Ambrose told Karishma Kotak on ‘The Curtly and Karishma Show’ on YouTube.
We have to be careful with how we define greatness – Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose, who picked up 405 wickets in 98 Tests at an average of 20.99 for the West Indies, was considered one of the best fast bowlers of his era. He suggested that the best way to determine whether someone is a ‘great’ is to see how consistent that player is over a period of time.
“Because sometimes, to be quite fair, we use the word greatness loosely. So, we have to be careful with how we define greatness. According to me, greatness is when a player can be very consistent over a period of time, mostly years,” he said.
The West Indian also believes many cricketers come to the international stage and light the world up in their first two years. However, this period is too short for him. Curtly Ambrose stated that only if the players are able to sustain a high level for more than 5-6 years, they can be judged appropriately at the end of their careers.
“Some guys can come into international cricket, and for two or three years, set the world on fire. And, for the next six to seven years, they do nothing. You cannot really judge on the first two or three years. It is over a period of time, through a whole career. At the end of your career, you can be judged if you were great or good or average,” Ambrose pointed out.
Ravichandran Ashwin is set to compete for India in the WTC Final against New Zealand, starting June 18 at the Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton. Following which he’ll be part of India’s squad that takes on England in a 5-match Test series in the month of August.