Can Ravichandran Ashwin Go Past Anil Kumble? Zaheer Khan Answers

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan shared his thoughts on whether off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin can surpass Anil Kumble's tally of 619 wickets to become India's leading wicket-taker in Tests. During the recently-concluded two-match series against New Zealand, which India won 1-0, Ashwin achieved a number of milestones, the most noted one being him going past Harbhajan Singh to become India's third-highest wicket-taker in Tests. Ashwin, who currently has 427 wickets to his name in 81 Tests, is only behind Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble in India's leading wicket-takers' list. While it is a matter of time before the off-spinner surpasses India's 1983 World Cup-winning captain in the elite list, the main question is whether he can go on to better Kumble's tally.

Zaheer said Ashwin has got time and if he continues to deliver the goods like he has been doing with consistency, then he indeed can break Kumble's record.

Speaking to the users of BalleBaazi.com, Zaheer Khan, the brand ambassador of the fantasy sports vertical of Baazi Games, said Ashwin "has created a league of his own."

"Ashwin has created a league of his own and he is also in the white ball team because of which he is in a great space. Every time he has the ball in his hand, you know he will pull off some trick and make the batsman come on the front foot if he's playing backfoot and vice-versa. He's got the time to achieve the feat and with this consistency it would be appropriate that he becomes the kind of bowler who can perhaps surpass the great Anil Kumble."

Ashwin picked up 14 wickets in the two Tests against New Zealand. He got three wickets each in both innings of the Kanpur Test but he was at his lethal best in the second Test in Mumbai. He picked up four wickets in each innings to return with stunning figures of 8/42 in the Test, which India won by a mammoth 372 runs to take the series.

Sharing his key takeaways from the match, Zaheer said, "It was great to see a dominating victory at home, much like the good old days. On the last day of the Test match, with the way the pitch was behaving, it was just a matter of time. Jayant Yadav really impressed me the way he came back with the ball after an ordinary 1st innings. He surely adds to the template of taking five bowlers into the game, especially when there are more left-handers in the opposition. Moreover, it's the flow of the new talented players which keeps adding value to the Indian squad."

Ashwin will next have his eyes on the South Africa series, where India are slated to play three Tests. He has often lost his place to Ravindra Jadeja whenever the team has travelled overseas but with the kind of form he is, it will be a difficult task to keep him out of the playing XI.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Anil Kumble Ravichandran Ashwin Zaheer Khan