The star India off-spinner was the pick of the Indian bowling unit in the first innings of the ongoing first Test match against West Indies in Dominica on Wednesday. He picked five wickets for 60 runs in 24.3 overs. The five-wicket haul was his 33rd in 93-match Test career.
The former India wicket-keeper batter pointed that despite being left out of India’s playing eleven for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, the Tamil Nadu tweaker moved on and gave his absolute best for the team.
Ashwin was left heartbroken after not being included in the final eleven for the WTC final which India lost against Australia. He showed his professionalism before the Dominica Test as well. He landed in India just a couple of days after the WTC final got over and turned up to play Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) matches in Coimbatore. At the same time, most of the other members of the Test team spent time holidaying in Europe.
Ashwin also gave an interview to The Indian Express and said that “he should never have become a bowler” and that “teammates aren’t friends but colleagues” now.
But once back on field, the 36-year-old just had the focus on getting out the West Indies batter. He became the first Indian bowler to pick a wicket in the WTC 2023-25 cycle. During the course of his five-fer, Ashwin also became only the third Indian bowler to pick 700 Test wickets.
Dasgupta said Ashwin, who is very well aware of his varieties and their usage in different conditions, would go down as one of the greatest players to play the game.
“The difference in the class of Ravichandran Ashwin the bowler, and the [West Indies] batters was evident. He would have been disappointed not to be a part of the final, but leaving the disappointment behind, he came and was a thorough professional and did what he does,” Deep Dasgupta told ESPNCricinfo.
“He [Ashwin] has so many varieties in his armoury, but he also knows when to use it. It’s one thing to have these variations and it’s another thing that you know when to use it.
“He is undoubtedly among the modern-day greats and once he finishes his career, he will finish as one of the greatest ever,” he added.
Ashwin is now just 21 wickets away from 500 Test scalps. He would be aiming to get closer to the landmark in the 2-Test series.
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