Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated Ravichandran Ashwin for achieving the milestone of taking 500 wickets in Tests. Ashwin became only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to take 500 wickets in Tests. Modi took to social media to express admiration for the off-spinner.
Ashwin was on 499 Test wickets ahead of the Test and needed one more to complete the achievement. The off-spinner picked up the much-awaited wicket in the form of opener Zak Crawley on the second day of the IND vs ENG 3rd Test. With the wicket, Ashwin became only the fifth spinner in the history of Test cricket to achieve this feat. Ashwin also became the second fastest bowler to bag 500 Test wickets after Muttiah Muralitharan.
Most Test wickets by spinners
- 800: Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
- 708: Shane Warne (Australia)
- 619: Anil Kumble (India)
- 517: Nathan Lyon (Australia)
- 500: Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the bandwagon in congratulating the Indian off-spinner. Modi took to X (previously Twitter) to congratulate the off-spinner.
“Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on the extraordinary milestone of taking 500 Test wickets! His journey and accomplishments are testament to his skill and perseverance. My best wishes to him as he scales further peaks,” Modi wrote and tagged the off-spinner.