“Ashwin is a professor of spin bowling” – Graeme Swann after the spinner’s five hundredth take a look at wicket

He is an off-spinner, identical to R. Ashwin. And regardless of making his Test debut at 29, Graeme Swann – England’s most profitable Test offspinner – completed with 255 Test scalps. Ashwin debuted at 25, comparatively late for a record-breaking bowler.

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With Swann on the Niranjan Shah Stadium as a broadcaster on the day Ashwin scaled Mt. 500, Team Sportstar caught up with him to open up on Ashwin’s achievement.

On his preliminary ideas on Ashwin’s milestone

It was going to return on this Test match, in all probability becoming that it was the primary wicket to fall. Just when India wanted that breakthrough, he’s the person who bought it. I’ve bought to take my hat off to him. It is good to see, particularly a finger spinner to get to 500 Test wickets. I’ve all the time been an enormous fan of his bowling. To get to 500 Test wickets in lower than 100 Tests is an enormous factor.

On Ashwin beginning comparatively late and but being a record-breaking bowler

That’s an enormous factor. To be truthful, in the event you begin taking part in a bit late you’ve gotten a little bit of benefit. You have performed extra cricket by that stage. You have learnt your craft extra. I discover the blokes who needed to study on the job had a drawback. Ashwin really benefited from that (debuting at 25). By the time he performed, he was prepared for it.

On Ashwin’s potential to anticipate a batter’s transfer

I’ve watched a variety of him on TV. Especially at any time when they performed Australia. He all the time had a really intelligent method when it wasn’t going for him. He was very fast to go over the wicket to the left-handers and labored out find out how to bowl individuals round their legs, and issues like that. I believe it’s very simple to bowl when there’s flip… preserve plugging away considering a wicket will come. He has by no means been proud of that. He has all the time seemed to pressure a wicket, which is why he has bought so lots of them.

On Ashwin’s tendency to experiment and evolve

It’s very tough for individuals however not Ashwin. His character calls for that. He is a scholar of the sport… like a professor of spin bowling.

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On Ashwin being an offspinner with a clear motion

Ashwin has bought the cleanest motion since me (laughs). I’m all the time bemused at the truth that I retired from cricket due to a nasty elbow, I by no means bent that. He has by no means been questioned as a result of he all the time bowls with shorter sleeves and doesn’t bend it.

The solely factor in opposition to Ashwin is when he tried bowling leg-spin. That wasn’t proper. He would in all probability do it once more simply to bother me (laughs). But practically all the pieces he tries works and credit score to him.