Sunil Gavaskar had paid a hearty tribute to Ravichandran Ashwin on the occasion of completing 500 wickets, believing that the ace off-spinner should have been awarded captaincy of the Test team two years ago. Ashwin, on, Friday, became the fastest and only the second Indian bowler to reach the milestone of 500 wickets, joining Anil Kumble in this rarest of rare list when he dismissed England opener Zak Crawley in their first innings.
Gavaskar feels Ashwin’s brilliance has always made him a captaincy material for India. He mentioned that two years back would have been the ideal time to bestow the honour on him. Over the last year, India have fielded several different teams, most prominently in 2021, when the Test squad was filled with senior players and the more established stars in England, while a second-string line-up comprising youngsters were in Sri Lanka for a limited-overs tour with Rahul Dravid overseeing proceedings. This has carried on ever since, which is why for Gavaskar, the idea of Ashwin as captain is exciting.
“Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on capturing his 500th Test wicket. What a tremendous cricketer he has been. One of the finest thinkers in the game and always willing to try something new and different, be it a run-up, delivery action and of course, deliveries to bamboozle the batter,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“He should have been honoured with the India captaincy a couple of years back when there were two India teams playing around the same time. Well done, Ashwin, and wish you many more wickets, newer deliveries and different actions in the future.”
