Abhinav Mukund, Tamil Nadu batsman has ‘respectfully disagreed’ with Sanjay Manjrekar’s comments about Ravichandran Ashwin not being a ‘legend of the game’.
Abhinav Mukund argued that the off-spinner is a meticulous planner, a ‘fantastic’ performer, and has enough records to back him as a legend. In a recent interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar was of the opinion that Ravichandran Ashwin’s lack of five-wicket hauls in pace-friendly conditions is the reason behind him not being an all-time legend of cricket.
Abhinav Mukund Respectfully Disagree With Sanjay Manjrekar As He Has Several Impactful Performances
Abhinav Mukund refuted the claims, saying that one should look at Tamil Nadu’s spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s overall impact, including during the tour of Australia last year, and his ‘several world records’ before judging.
“I read an article today where Sanjay Manjrekar said that ‘I disagree that he is a legend of the game’. I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Manjrekar and say he is a legend of the game because he holds several world records. The accusation towards him is that he’s never performed in SENA countries.”
“But I think he had a fantastic tour to Australia. If you look at it that way, and if you just look at the number of five-wicket-hauls he’s taken and what an impact he’s been to as a leader, he’s probably one of the legends of the game in my opinion at least,” Mukund told stand-up comedian Sorabh Pant on his YouTube channel ‘Wake Up With Sorabh’.
Currently ranked 2nd in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin has played 78 Tests, picking up 409 wickets at an average of 24.69. He holds the record for being the fastest to breach the 250, 300, and 350 wickets and is just 26 victims short of becoming India’s 2nd most successful bowler. Ravichandran Ashwin was also the most successful spinner on the tour down under, with his 12 wickets from three games coming at just under 29 apiece.
Ravichandran Ashwin is set to play the WTC final and is four wickets away from being the leading wicket-taker in the championship. He has 409 career wickets and is India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker currently behind Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, and Harbhajan Singh. He picked 12 wickets in 3 Tests in the Australia series and followed it up by taking 32 scalps in the following England 4 Test series where he was the leading wicket-taker.
Abhinav Mukund: Ravichandran Ashwin’s Been Fantastic
Abhinav Mukund also talked about Ravichandran Ashwin’s penchant for planning and preparation for every game. He said that the 34-year-old spinner ‘just loves the game’ and it shows in his execution on the field.
“He just loves the game. Ashwin is actually a guy who will research everything there is to cricket. He just needs to be one of those very well-prepared individuals who go on to a cricket field and that kind of shows in the way he has performed, especially in Test match cricket. He’s been fantastic,” Mukund, who has played 7 Tests for India, added.
Ravichandran Ashwin will be seen in action in the much-anticipated World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand on June 18 at Southampton.
In 2011, Abhinav Mukund made his debut in the Indian national cricket team. After playing 7 Test matches (played only in 2011 and 2017), he was dropped from the team. When he was 21, he played his first Test match for the country. Abhinav Mukund is a hard-hitting batsman who has played 145 first-class, 84 List A, and 35 T20s.
In First-Class cricket, he has scored 10258 runs at a staggering average of 47.93 in 145 games which include 31 tons. He also notched up 12 tons in List A matches averaging above 50.