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R Ashwin
Indian off-spinner R Ashwin will be on the edge of an impressive milestone when India faces England in the upcoming Test Series in Chennai. The 34-year-old is currently India's fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests with 377 wickets in 74 games. He is just behind former cricketers Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, and Harbhajan Singh.
Ashwin is returning from an incredible Tour of Australia, as he picked up 12 wickets from three Tests. Out of the 377 scalps, he has accumulated 254 wickets while playing at home. This also includes 21 five-wicket and six ten-wicket hauls. In the past 18 months, Ashwin has considerably improved his record as a bowler.
The Tamil Nadu player needs 12 wickets to surpass Harbhajan's 265 Test wickets in India. If Ashwin successfully reaches the mark, he will become India's second-highest wicket-taker at home. Anil Kumble is leading the table with 350 wickets at home.
Ashwin needs eight Test wickets to complete 50 against England
Ashwin would also require another eight scalps to complete 50 Test wickets against England at home. With this achievement, Ashwin will become the only fourth Indian to reach this feat after the legendary BS Chandrasekhar (64), Kumble (56), and Bishan Singh Bedi (50).
In 2016, when England had toured India to play Test matches, Ashwin had picked 28 wickets from five games. This also includes three five-wicket-hauls and one match haul of 10 scalps. Following that, in the 2018 Pataudi Trophy when England had defeated India 4-1 comprehensively, Ashwin had scalped 11 wickets from four Tests.
Recently, England's batting coach Graham Thorpe also stated that India's bowling unit is not only about pacers as their spinners are equally talented. In the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin will guide the spin attack, along with Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. On the other end, Joe Root will also become the 15th England player to feature 100 Test matches. Both the teams will play their first match in Chennai for the series opener starting February 5. The England skipper scored 8249 runs in 99 Tests at an average of 49.39. This also includes 19 centuries and 49 half-centuries. Root also has the highest batting average amongst the ten highest run-scorers for England in their Test history.