Considered one of the greatest off-spinners of all time, Ravichandran Ashwin was born on 17 September 1986 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Not only has his all-round brilliance has made him a successful player, but his strategic mindset has also been a key factor in his journey so far. Although Ashwin has played a crucial role in all three formats for India, it is in Tests that he has established himself as an irreplaceable part.
The 38-year-old, who started with tennis ball cricket on the streets of Chennai, burst onto the scene with his impressive performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He kept knocking on the doors of the national selectors, which finally opened in June 2010 when India tour Zimbabwe for a tri-series.
A year and a half later, Ashwin made his Test debut as India looked to fill Anil Kumble’s void and before Harbhajan Singh left the arena. He became the seventh Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut. He was given a long run in Tests and earned the go-to-bowler tag after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2013.
His right-arm off-spin wizardry helped him take 29 wickets against Australia, which made only the third Indian off-spinner to take 25-plus wickets in a series and earn him the Player of the Match award. For the unversed, Ashwin started as an opening batter during his early domestic career and was later dropped down the order due to limited success.
However, his efforts as a batsman were not in vain as his batting efforts played a crucial role in India’s many Test victories. Against the West Indies in November 2013, Ashwin scored his second Test century and also put on a record seventh-wicket partnership of 280 runs with Rohit Sharma.
The legendary spinner has so far represented India in 100 Tests and has taken 500 wickets at an average of 23.75. Notably, he is the fastest bowler to reach 300 wickets in terms of number of innings. Ashwin has won 10 Man of the Series awards in Tests, which is the highest by an Indian cricketer and the second highest overall. He has five tons and 14 half-centuries in this format.
Coming to limited overs cricket, the Tamil Nadu spinner has taken 156 and 72 wickets in ODIs and T20Is respectively. Notably, he was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. Having represented multiple IPL franchises, Ashwin has taken 180 wickets in 211 matches in the cash-rich league.