R Ashwin Is The Best Spinner In The World, Says Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan said that R Ashwin is “the best spinner in the world at the moment.” Ashwin became the fastest bowler to reach 300 Test wickets having got to the landmark in 15,636 career deliveries. The record was previously held by Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne. Muralitharan, who is the highest wicket-taker of all time in Tests with a whopping 800 scalps, is now third in the list, having got to 300 wickets in 18,622 deliveries.

“I want to congratulate him (Ashwin),” Muralitharan is quoted as saying by PTI, “It’s a big achievement as getting 300 Test wickets is not an easy job. Definitely, he is the best spinner in the world at the moment. He is not in the One-Day team but hopefully, he will return and do wonders in the shorter formats also.” Ashwin has been out of the Indian ODI and T20 teams for some time during which time Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have cemented their place.

But Muralitharan backed him to break more records due to is age. “He (Ashwin) is hardly 31, 32 years old and can play for another 4-5 years at least. But it will also depend on how he performs and remains injury free. Only time will tell as it will be very hard for him after 35,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s current tour of India was preceded by India doing a fulkl tour of the country. Muralitharan disagreed with the claim that too much cricket between India and Sri Lanka has taken the sheen off the contest and also spoke about Indian captain Virat Kohli being rested for the upcoming ODI and T20 series. “I can’t say there is too much of (India-Sri Lanka) cricket but may be Virat (Kohli) is getting bored of winning every time.”

India had hammered Sri Lanka in their tour of the country earlier in the year, winning all the matches across three formats. Now the hosts have already sealed the three-match Test series, beating Sri Lanka an innings and 239 runs. It is the wors Sri Lanka have ever suffered in Test cricket. It is indicative of the decline of Sri Lanka in the years since the likes of Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene retired. Muralitharan agree that Sri Lankan cricket is going through a tough phase but one has to appreciate India’s strength. “India is a very good side and I rate them very high. You can’t take credit away from India by saying that Sri Lanka is a weak team. They are doing really well in every format,” he said, “Alarm bells (in Sri Lankan cricket) have rang two three years ago. For me it’s a matter of great concern. You lose sometime but this (Sri Lankan) team is losing a lot and that is a major worry. Young cricketers are not coming through. They are not performing. That’s the biggest concern we have.”

Courtesy : indianexpress