Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is hailed to be one of the best spinners in the world right now, at least when it comes to Tests. He is an integral part of the Indian squad which made it to the World Test Championship final. But is he an all-time great? Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t think so.
Ashwin has so far picked up 67 wickets in 13 matches in WTC with an average of 20.88. Although he isn’t part of the limited-overs format, his presence in the Test squad is of paramount importance. Ashwin has stacked up a career aggregate of 409 wickets, studded with thirty 5-wicket hauls and a best of 7/59.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s record in SENA countries hasn’t been great – Sanjay Manjrekar
The former batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar, who is well known for making over-the-top statements, once called Ravindra Jadeja a bits and pieces cricketer. Recently, in a conversation with ESPNCricinfo, the commentator spoke about Ravichandran Ashwin and his performance in away conditions.
He was of the opinion that although Ashwin has delivered in spin-friendly conditions in India, his away performances-particularly in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia- have been underwhelming.
“When people start talking about him as being one of the all-time greats of the game then I have a few problems. 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,” Manjrekar said.
Jadeja has matched him with his wicket-taking abilities
Sanjay Manjrekar went on to compare Jadeja’s record to Ravichandran Ashwin’s in recent times. Ashwin will have a chance to prove Manjrekar wrong in the upcoming WTC final. India will then face England in a five-match Test series starting in August.
“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 his wicket-taking abilities. Then, interestingly, in the last series against England, Axar Patel got more wickets than Ashwin on similar pitches. So that is my problem with accepting Ashwin as a real all-time great”, he concluded.