Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been in sensational form, both with ball and bat, against the visiting Englishmen, is eight wickets astray of becoming the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India across all formats. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner has been in tremendous form against England and along with Axar Patel, was instrumental in the hosts winning the last two Tests. Ashwin has claimed 24 wickets in the series so far, with one match and the limited-overs series still to go. Over and above that, he scored a century in the second Test, which turned the match decisively in India’s favour.

Ashwin so far as 603 international wickets (401 in Tests, 150 in One-day Internationals and 52 in T20 Internationals), seven short of Zaheer Khan’s 610 (311 Test, 282 ODI and 17 T20Is).

On top of the list is Anil Kumble, with a total of 956 wickets (619 Test, 337 ODIs), followed by Harbhajan Singh at 711 (417 Test, 269 ODI, 25 T20I).

Kapil Dev is third on the list with 687 wickets (434 Test. 253 ODIs).

Ashwin is likely to be a key factor in the remaining Test, not just because of his ability with the ball but also for his grit with the bat, which he has displayed time and again.

Promoted

Not only is he the leading wicket-taker in the series so far, he is also third on the list of highest run-scorers.

Irrespective of whether he reaches this landmark or not, Ashwin has already made a mark in the series as one of India’s most valuable players.