Many cricketing aspirants have dreamt to follow the footsteps of the legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev and Indian off-spinning ace Ravichandran Ashwin is no exception. Ashwin attained a milestone in his illustrious career when he eclipsed the legendary Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 Test wickets. The fans know the Chennai-born bowler as the off-spinner but he recently revealed he wanted to become an all-rounder like the former Indian skipper back in the day.
Ravichandran Ashwin went past Kapil Dev’s Test wicket record
Ashwin played his 85th match against Sri Lanka in the 1st Test Match in Mohali that India won comprehensively by an innings and 222 runs. He is India’s second most successful bowler in the longest format on Sunday. He achieved the huge feat when he dismissed Charith Asalanka during Sri Lanka’s second innings in the first Test, which India won
“Feeling so humbled. 28 years ago, I was cheering for Kapil Paaji along with my da when he went past Richard Hadlee’s record,” Ashwin said on his Youtube channel.
“Even in my wildest dream, I never thought of going past his tally of wickets because I always wanted to be a batsman especially when I started off as an eight-year old. In 1994, batting was my fascination. Sachin Tendulkar was just emerging into the scene and Kapil Dev, himself was a terrific striker of the ball,” added Ravichandran Ashwin.
You can check out the full video clip below:
Kapil’s 434 wickets had come from 131 matches. The legendary Anil Kumble tops the chart with 619 dismissals which he claimed in 132 matches. Ravichandran Ashwin is the fourth Indian bowler to take more than 400 wickets in Test cricket. He also became the ninth highest Test wicket-taker of all time, moving past New Zealand great Richard Hadlee (431) and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (433) as well, apart from Kapil.
He will certainly be a part of India’s playing XI when they lock horns with Sri Lanka in the second and final Test Match which starts from March 12 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
