‘He’s the professor and the scientist of the game’ – Michael Vaughan compares Ravichandran Ashwin to legendary bowlers after taking 500 Test wickets

Ravichandran Ashwin has completed his 500 wickets milestone in the 3rd Test match against England. By dismissing Zak Crawley, Ashwin reached the 500-wicket club. Moreover, he also became the second fastest player to reach the 500-wicket club after the legendary Sri Lankan bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan. It took Ashwin 98 matches to take 500 wickets while Muralitharan took 87 matches to reach the milestone. Moreover, former English batter, Michael Vaughan compared Ashwin’s with two great players, Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Vaughan said, “Ravi Ashwin is in the same echelons as Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. He’s the professor and the scientist of the game.”

Moreover, after taking 500 wickets on day 3, Ashwin withdrew from the Test match because of a family emergency. The Indian Cricket Board arranged a chartered flight to make his journey easier. After a day, Ashwin did return to Rajkot and joined the team again on day 4. This shows his dedication towards his game as well as his family.

‘I thought it would come a lot earlier in the series’ – Ravichandran Ashwin’s father recalls the 500 wickets

Ravichandran Ashwin’s father was the happiest when his son became a member of the 500-wicket club. Although he was expecting the achievement a bit earlier in the series, however, it didn’t happen. Moreover, after Ashwin took 500 wickets, his daughters were elated and informed their grandfather about the milestone.

Ashwin’s father said, “I thought it would come a lot earlier in the series. But when it finally happened, I was overjoyed. My daughter-in-law came to our place with the granddaughters, Akhira and Adhya, who rushed to me and said ‘Appa has got 500 wickets’. I am a bigger fan of Anil Kumble than my son. So, I am not thinking whether he would get past him or not. He has to enjoy his cricket. If it has to happen, it will.”