Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that he had never imagined to break the record of great players of the game.
On Sunday, the Tamil Nadu player surpassed World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 Test wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali.
IND vs SL: Ravichandran Ashwin surpassed Kapil Dev’s Test wickets
Ashwin got the wickets of Sri Lanka all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne in the first innings and as India enforced the visitors to follow on, Ashwin was once again on the song, he claimed four wickets in the second innings.
Ashwin once again got the better of Thirimanne in the early part of the innings before he forced Pathum Nissanka to nick behind the stumps, initially, the appeal was turned down by the on-field umpire but after India’s DRS the decision went in the bowler’s favour.
The Indian spinner claimed Charith Asalanka’s wicket as his 435th Test wicket to leapfrog Kapil Dev (434) in the list of most Test wickets by Indian bowlers. Ashwin is just behind former Indian skipper Anil Kumble’s 619 Test dismissals.
I am delighted and very grateful to what this game has given me: Ravichandran Ashwin
The 35-year-old Tamil Nadu bowling all-rounder expressed his gratitude for achieving the milestone and opened up about his dream to break Kapil Dev’s record during his childhood.
“28 years ago, I was cheering the great @therealkapildev (Kapil Dev) on to get his world record tally of wickets,” Ashwin wrote in his caption on his Instagram post, uploaded on Sunday after the first Test.
“I never had the slightest of ideas that I would become an off spinner, play for my country and even manage to go past the great mans tally of wickets. I am delighted and very grateful to what this game has given me so far ,” he further wrote.
Ashwin has picked 306 of his 436 Test wickets on Indian soil and holds the record of being the fastest bowler to pick 300 Test wickets in 54 matches.