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After a memorable Test match, in which he played a stellar role with both bat and ball, India's Ravichandran Ashwin jumped to the number one position in the ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders.
Ashwin's impressive Test record currently reads -- 740 runs and 97 wickets in 17 matches.
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It is interesting to see how Ashwin stands as compared to other great all-rounders, both past and present, after exactly 17 Tests.
Legendary all-rounders Gary Sobers, Ian Botham and Chris Cairns had scored more runs than Ashwin after 17 matches, however, the Indian off-spinner has claimed more wickets than the three.
In fact, Ashwin’s wicket-tally is the highest among the lot. On the batting front, only Sobers had a higher average than Ashwin after 17 Tests.
Ashwin is also the only one in the list of top all-rounders with two centuries and two ten-wicket match hauls after their first 17 games.
Check out the table below to see the records of the top all-rounders after 17 Tests:
|
Player |
For |
Runs |
Avg |
100s |
Wkts |
Avg |
5WI |
10WM |
|
R Ashwin |
Ind |
740 |
41.41 |
2 |
97 |
28.07 |
9 |
2 |
|
Ian Botham |
Eng |
791 |
35.95 |
3 |
87 |
18.69 |
8 |
1 |
|
Imran Khan |
Pak |
544 |
21.76 |
0 |
70 |
33.33 |
4 |
1 |
|
Richard Hadlee |
NZ |
617 |
22.85 |
0 |
61 |
35.59 |
2 |
1 |
|
Kapil Dev |
Ind |
698 |
34.90 |
1 |
58 |
33.36 |
2 |
0 |
|
Shaun Pollock |
SA |
605 |
30.25 |
0 |
58 |
23.40 |
3 |
0 |
|
Wasim Akram |
Pak |
204 |
13.60 |
0 |
53 |
26.83 |
4 |
1 |
|
Chris Cairns |
NZ |
772 |
27.57 |
1 |
53 |
36.28 |
2 |
0 |
|
Andrew Flintoff |
Eng |
543 |
20.11 |
1 |
26 |
40.62 |
0 |
0 |
|
Jacques Kallis |
SA |
741 |
29.64 |
2 |
22 |
29.86 |
0 |
0 |
|
Gary Sobers |
WI |
1221 |
48.84 |
1 |
21 |
42.90 |
0 |
0 |
It can be argued that Ashwin still has a long way to go to establish him as a top all-rounder.
For this he needs to perform consistently overseas against top Test sides like South Africa, England and Australia.
The 27-year-old's next target will be the all-round double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets.
Ian Botham currently holds the record of being the quickest to complete this double, having got there in 21 Tests. Can Ashwin beat his record?