Ravichandran Ashwin on the brink of standing alongside Anil Kumble for historic record

Tamil Nadu-born veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on the verge of joining leg-spin legend “The Jumbo” Anil Kumble in becoming only the 2nd Indian bowler to complete 500 wickets for India in Test cricket. Ashwin is just 10 wickets short of the incredible milestone which has been achieved by only 8 bowlers before.

Ravichandran Ashwin will become only the 9th bowler overall in the world to complete 500 wickets and just the 5th spinner to do so. Ahead of Ashwin are some legends like Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), Anil Kumble (619), and Nathan Lyon (512), the only 4 spinners to achieve this outstanding mark.

Ashwin will have ample amount of time to take those 10 wickets in the upcoming 5-match Test series against England which will start from January 25 with the 1st Test set to take place at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium. With spinners having a better say than pacers in Indian tracks, it will not be surprising to see the off-spinner play all 5 matches in Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamshala.

Another bowler who is on the cusp of history is England’s ever-green seamer Jimmy Anderson. The Englishman has well and truly defied the negative impact of ageing and at 41 years of age, the Lancashire legend is still going strong. The skillful swinger who was a part of the English team that last won a Test series here under the captaincy of Alastair Cook, is just 10 wickets away from becoming the 3rd bowler to register 700 wickets.

Anderson will join Muralitharan and Warne in this elusive list and will become the first pacer ever to do so. If he returns to England with a minimum of 20 wickets from this tour then his next aim will be to try his best to attain 800 wickets as Shane Warne will then become the 3rd highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.

With Milestones On His Mind, Ravichandran Ashwin Aiming To Distraught English Batters

Very recently, an English batter named Ben Duckett who is a part of the tour, stated that in his last Test outing in India in 2016, Ravichandran Ashwin had made life hell for him. So much so that not only was Duckett dropped from the side after the first two Tests but it also turned out to be the first major setback of his career.

Ashwin had exploited Duckett’s weakness of waiting for the ball from the leg stump with the latter giving up his wicket with a snap. The Englishman would call Ashwin the best spinner in every type of condition and admitted himself that he is keen on the contest this time around.

While it remains to be seen how far Ben Duckett has come since then, the one to watch out for India will be Ravichandran Ashwin. With all his tricks and mind games, he is also eyeing to become the first bowler from the country to register 100 Test scalps against the Three Lions.

In 19 Tests in England and India, Ashwin has registered 88 wickets which includes six 5-wicket hauls and a sole 10-wicket haul. So with several records set to be broken, the 2023 Test series between India and England promises to be a spectacle.