Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded Ravichandran Ashwin. On Friday, February 16, Ashwin achieved 500 Test wickets. This achievement occurred during India’s third Test against England in Rajkot.
Modi, who is 73, praised the achievement of this off-spinner. Ashwin’s accomplishment is truly spectacular—he’s the second fastest to get to 500 wickets in this challenging format.
Ashwin accomplished this by getting Zak Crawley out. Just a note, Ashwin is 37. The most wickets India has picked up in a Test are by the former captain, Anil Kumble. But Ashwin is hot on his heels, just lagging by 119 wickets!
Modi tagged Ashwin and posted on X (previously Twitter):
“Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on the extraordinary milestone of taking 500 Test wickets! His journey and accomplishments are testament to his skill and perseverance. My best wishes to him as he scales further peaks.”
Overall, only nine bowlers have bagged over 500 wickets in the format. They are Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), James Anderson (696*), Stuart Broad (604), Glenn McGrath (563), Courtney Walsh (519), and Nathan Lyon (517*).
Ravichandran Ashwin reveals he became a spinner by chance after reaching 500 Test wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin claimed that his first Indian Premier League franchise, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), was the key reason he became a spinner. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer informed media during the news conference on Day 2:
“I was an accidental spinner. I wanted to be a batter all along. Life gave me a chance. When I walked into the CSK dressing room, Muttiah Muralitharan didn’t want to bowl (with) the new ball and eventually, I got tossed the new ball.”
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin, from 2008 to 2015, was with CSK, where he scored 90 wickets in 97 games. His economy rate was 6.46. Following this, he played for Team India. He appeared in various formats like the ODI, T20I World Cups, and World Test Championships.
Meanwhile, England were 207/2 at stumps on Day 2, with Ben Duckett (133 off 118) and Joe Root (nine off 13) on the pitch. The visitors are down by 238 runs in the first inning.
India batted first and scored 445 in their first innings. Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, scored 131 (196), while Ravindra Jadeja scored 112 (225). Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel, both debutants, scored 62 (66) and 46 (104), respectively. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah added a late flourish, scoring 37 (89) and 26 (28), respectively.
Mark Wood shined with the ball for England, finishing with 4/114, while Rehan Ahmed took two wickets.