Former India batter and current cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has landed in hot water for his bold opinion once again. Manjrekar opined that Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is not yet an all-time great player.
Ashwin has been India’s premier spinner in the last decade, picking up 409 wickets in 78 Tests, including 30 five-wicket hauls. But his overseas record has always been under criticism. Manjrekar has a problem with people rating Ashwin as an all-time great because none of those 30 five-wicket hauls came outside of the subcontinent.
“When people start talking about him as being one of the all-time greats of the game then I have a few problems.
One basic problem I have with Ashwin is that when you look at SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries, Ashwin doesn’t have a single five-wicket haul there,”
Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
Ashwin’s 286 wickets out of 409, have come in India with 24 five-fers. Manjrekar stated that the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has matched the off-spinner’s wicket-taking prowess. Manjrekar also mentioned Axar Patel’s dream debut series against England, where he picked 27 wickets in three matches compared to Ashwin’s 32 in four.
“When you talk about him running through sides on Indian pitches, in the last four years, Jadeja has matched him with wicket-taking abilities.
Then in the last series against England, Axar Patel got more wickets than Ashwin on similar pitches. So that is my problem with accepting Ashwin as a real all-time great,”
Manjrekar added.
Following his statement, the Mumbaikar received backlash from all corners of the cricket world. Manjrekar took to Twitter to explain his views saying the all-time great tag is for the likes of Bradman, Tendulkar, Sobers and that Ashwin hasn’t reached that level yet.
Ashwin changed the perception of people about his overseas performance during the Australia tour to some extent. The off-spinner played an important role in India’s victory by troubling Steve Smith and getting in his head early in the series.
India are set to play the World Test Championship final, followed by a five-match series against England in the next three months. Ashwin will have plenty of opportunities to get that elusive 5-fer in overseas conditions and end the debate once and for all.
