Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh are undoubtedly two of the biggest match-winners Team India has ever produced. Both have proved themselves to be the strongest weapon of the captain and have almost always stepped up to the plate.
Team India has always had a lot of spin bowling options. Be it the illustrious spin quartet of the past or the modern-day greats like Harbhajan and Ashwin, spinners have undoubtedly been the Men in Blue’s biggest asset in home conditions, which also reflects in their stupendous record.
Being one of the most prolific Indian off-spinners till date, one cannot help but draw comparisons between the two. The Tamil Nadu-born recently crossed the 450-wicket mark and has no intention of slowing down.
Harbhajan, on the other hand, played a key role in Sourav Ganguly’s era as captain and was able to translate it to other formats as well.
Legends in his own right, the off-spinner is huge, impact-wise as well. statistical approach. He has been invincible at home several times and has created many records during his career.
As mentioned earlier, Ashwin recently picked up his 450th Test wicket after dismissing Alex Carey in the first innings of the Nagpur Test. It took him 89 Tests to reach the landmark with an average of 24.09.
In comparison, Harbhajan ended his career with 417 Test wickets in 103 matches at an average of 32.46. The conditions in the subcontinent favor spin bowling and both the stalwarts made the most of it to pick up wickets and win matches for their teams.
In terms of domestic dominance, both the spinners have been a major threat in conversation. However, from a purely statistical point of view, Ashwin is way ahead. The senior off-spinner has taken 320 wickets in 52 Tests at an average of 20.88.
The tally of wickets will only go up with Ashwin maintaining a high level of consistency with no plans of hanging up his boots.
Foreign teams are still scared of facing Indian spinners in subcontinent conditions. It should come as no surprise that most of the match-winning performances from the spin duo have come on the peninsula.
Harbhajan was named player of the match in the longest format a total of six times in his career. He was the first recipient of his debut in the prestigious Chennai Test against Australia in 2001, where he took 15 wickets, his best bowling figures in a match.
Ashwin, on the other hand, claimed the Player of the Match award in his Test debut itself. He took nine wickets in the competition as India defeated the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in November 2011. Since then, he has added eight more Player of the Match awards to his tally, most recently for his performance against Bangladesh in December. 2022.
Ashwin surpassed Harbhajan’s tally after claiming the award for his performance in the Kanpur Test against New Zealand in 2016.
As a result, he is the most decorated Indian off-spinners when it comes to Player of the Match awards. Harbhajan held the record for the most wickets by an Indian off-spinner after claiming 63 scalps in 2002, his second year in international cricket after returning from a two-year absence.
However, Ashwin broke that record by a wide margin in 2016 after taking 72 wickets.
The Tamil Nadu spinner could potentially break his own record in 2024, should he stick with this rich vein of form. The likes of England, New Zealand and Australia will all tour India within the time frame, giving Ashwin the chance to be heavy between the wickets.