Ravichandran Ashwin recently picked up a record-equalling 11th Player-of-the-series award following his starring role with the bat and ball in India’s dominant 2-0 win over Bangladesh in a two-match Test series. Ashwin thus officially drew level with the record held by Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan for having won most such awards in Test history. However, according to a report in The Indian Express, the star Indian offspinner would have surpassed Muralitharan following his latest exploits against Bangladesh but for an official gaffe during India’s tour of the Caribbean last year.
India faced West Indies in a two-match Test series in 2023 which was also their first series of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle. The visitors won the series 1-0 and Ashwin was the star performer, finishing with 15 wickets and a half-century. He was reportedly among the contenders for the player-of-the-series award but after the conclusion of the second Test at Port of Spain, the award wasn’t handed out.
As per the publication, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has shifted the onus on an Indian agency that was responsible for handling the sponsorship of the series. However, the agency in question claims player-of-the-series is CWI’s concern. The award though should have been handed over to the winner even if it wasn’t done during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Ashwin finished the Bangladesh series with 11 wickets – the joint-most alongside Jasprit Bumrah. However, he pipped his India teammate to the award thanks to his brilliant century in the Chennai Test that helped the hosts recover from a tricky spot. The 38-year-old will be next seen in action during a three-match Test series against New Zealand starting October 16. He’s currently India’s second-most success Test bowler in history with 527 wickets from 102 matches including 37 five-wicket hauls.
Besides his exploits with the ball, Ashwin has also scored 3423 runs including six centuries and 14 fifties.
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