19 December,2024 06:05 AM IST | Brisbane | R Kaushik
Ravichandran Ashwin
Just like that, without a second glance, R Ashwin rode away into the sunset, calling time on a glorious international career that saw him go where only one other Indian spinner had before.
Anil Kumble, Ashwin's hero and role model, remains the country's most prolific wicket-taker, with 619 scalps from 132 Tests. Ashwin signed off with 537 wickets from 106 matches, a tribute to his longevity and an uncompromising command on his craft that made him dangerous anywhere, but especially so at home where he was practically unplayable for more than a decade.
In so many ways beyond the fact they were both spinners armed with a degree in engineering, Kumble and Ashwin were remarkably similar individuals, both striving constantly to get better, both armed with the aggression of a fast bowler, both developing new skills to not merely stay relevant but go one up on the opposition. "We will probably realise his quality when he has retired and moved on," Kumble had told this reporter on the eve of Ashwin's 100th Test, in Dharamsala against England this March. "But in my book, Ash is in the top tier of players who have played for the country."
That's high praise from clearly the greatest match-winner in Indian Test history. Ashwin constantly kept raising the bar, fusing his natural inquisitiveness with an inner fire that burnt brightly till his final day as a Test cricketer, in the pink-ball game in Adelaide 10 days back.
Considering cricket's standing as a numbers' game, it is inevitable that Ashwin will be viewed through that prism. It does make for pretty viewing - 537 wickets, 37 five-wicket hauls, six centuries, all pointing to an excellent all-rounder who set and maintained high standards for nearly a decade and a half. But even those exceptional numbers don't tell the full tale of Ashwin's influence on the team's fortunes and the part he played in India winning every series at home for 12 years between the start of 2013 and the 0-3 loss to New Zealand last month.
His role, especially outside the subcontinent, has diminished in recent times with India stringing together a quality pace attack and Ravindra Jadeja emerging as the first-choice spinner. But that should take little away from a glittering journey. Rohit Sharma did turn to Ashwin as the attacking spinning choice in the Adelaide Test and even though things didn't go to plan, it goes to show that even at 38, his captain believed he was the best person to lead the team's charge behind the three-pronged specialist pace attack.
One of Ashwin's most striking traits was his willingness to experiment in a bid to stay ahead of the curve. His skills have been immense enough for him to just coast in their wake, especially when they kept bringing him unparalleled success, but Ashwin isn't the kind to let the grass grow beneath his feet. His constant endeavour to seek answers to the most vexing questions and his propensity to continue to challenge himself are reasons why he is in the top echelons of bowlers to have played Test cricket. That, as much as anything else, will remain the essence of his stellar cricketing journey.
37
No. of five-wicket hauls Ashwin has in his career
Six
No. of Test centuries Ashwin scored
Eight
No. of times R Ashwin claimed 10 or more wickets in a Test
27,246
No. of deliveries R Ashwin bowled in Test cricket
