The record for most Test-wickets as a bowler is held by Indian Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and the legend Anil Kumble is now outperformed. Ashwin, the bowler who dismissed Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto on April 06, 2021, in Kanpur’s 2nd Test match, achieved this turn of events as he became the bowler with the second most number of Test Wickets in Asia–420, after Anil Kumble which previously stood at 419 out of his 619 wicket haul in the continent.

Rank Team Player Tests Wickets

1 Sri Lanka Muttiah Muralitharan 97 612

2 India Ravichandran Ashwin* 71 420

3 India Anil Kumble 82 419

4 Sri Lanka Rangana Herath 68 354

5 India Harbhajan Singh 71 300

6 India Kapil Dev 86 279

7 Sri Lanka Chaminda Vaas 74 236

8 India Ravindra Jadeja 48 231

9 Pakistan Wasim Akram 59 216

10 Pakistan Waqar Younis 47 215

Of the current players, it is the former Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan who holds the record for the most test match wickets obtained on the Asian continent with 612 wickets having been taken. His fellow countryman, Rangana Herath occupies the fourth position on this list with 354 wickets recorded. Spin great Harbhajan Singh finished the top five ranked bowlers in this aspect with a total of 300 wickets claimed.

Ashwin pitched and lived up to expectations during the first test between India and Bangladesh held in Chennai and where India won by 280 runs. This was after he scored a century to rescue India in the first innings a century prior to taking a fiver in the same match.

For quite some time, Ashwin and Ravindra jadeja have been the main spinners in the team. The two have always worked in tandem to frustrate the visiting batters in India and made them look like fools in the process which has resulted in their team being unbeaten in 17 series played at home.

In the Chennai Test, Ashwin was deemed player-of-the-match again and this time, he praised his spin twin, Jadeja.

“Often, back when I was ‘young’ I wanted us, without exception, to be the best players of our team and there were no problems again, thank you, it’s beneficial to be in such a team. It is like being comrades in arms, or something like that, and after some time, everyone begins to appreciate each other,” said Ashwin.

“Now, that admiration has gone one step higher, knowing that I can never beat Jadeja. So, I’m comfortable in my skin, but totally inspired by what he’s done. Jadeja on the field is a fire. He’s a rocket on the field. So, all in all, I envy him. I’m jealous of him but totally admire him. I’ve learnt to admire him for the last 4-5 years, even more than I have in the past,” he added.