Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has drawn a parallel between legendary India all-rounder Kapil Dev and modern-day great Ravichandran Ashwin, claiming that the two legends "should be spoken of in the same breath". Karthik's comments came after Ashwin took three wickets in the first innings, and played impressive knocks of 38 and 32, respectively, in the ongoing first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur. "Obviously, I don't think I am in a place to judge both of them, but I must admit that they should be spoken of in the same breath when it comes to Indian cricket because both of them have been match-winners, have been exemplary, and have been definitely the two best all-rounders to have come out of this soil for a long, long time," Karthik said during a discussion with Simon Doull on Cricbuzz.
Karthik also said that Ashwin's numbers are good enough to back his claim of being a top-all-rounder and that not many cricketers who bat so down the order have scored as many centuries as him.
"You have to put him there (among India's best all-rounders) with the number of Man of the Series he has won, the accolades he has got obviously."
"Getting 417 wickets in 80 Tests is an unbelievable record to have and the fact that he's contributed and scored five hundreds, much more than a lot of the batters who play for a longer period of time in Test matches. There are people who have played 30-35 Tests, and still haven't managed five hundreds," he added.
Ashwin is just one wicket away from becoming India's third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format. He is currently tied with Harbhajan Singh with 417 wickets.