India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has praised Ravichandran Ashwin for achieving the milestone of 500 Test wickets, stating that Ashwin should have been made captain of the Test team two years ago. Ashwin recently became the fastest and only the second Indian bowler to reach 500 Test wickets, joining Anil Kumble in this exclusive club when he dismissed England opener Zak Crawley in their first innings.
Gavaskar believes that Ashwin’s exceptional skills and cricketing acumen always made him a suitable candidate for the captaincy. He expressed that two years ago would have been the perfect time to honor him with the role. India has fielded several different teams over the past year, especially in 2021, with a Test squad full of senior players and established stars in England, while a second-string lineup of youngsters played in Sri Lanka under Rahul Dravid‘s guidance. This frequent team rotation is why Gavaskar finds the idea of Ashwin as captain intriguing.
“Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on capturing his 500th Test wicket. What a tremendous cricketer he has been. One of the finest thinkers in the game and always willing to try something new and different, be it a run-up, delivery action and of course, deliveries to bamboozle the batter,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“He should have been honored with the India captaincy a couple of years back when there were two India teams playing around the same time. Well done, Ashwin, and wish you many more wickets, newer deliveries and different actions in the future.”
Despite his significant achievement, Ashwin’s experience was bittersweet as he had to leave the squad and fly to Chennai due to a family emergency immediately after reaching the 500-wicket milestone. However, he returned to bowl in the second innings and took 1/19 as England were bowled out for 122 – their 6th-lowest total against India.
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