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'He Should've Been Honoured...' - Gavaskar Reveals His 'Dear' Wish On R Ashwin 

image-lsvw5yxoAshwin got 500 Test wickets in Rajkot (AP Photos)

Sunil Gavaskar paid tributes to great Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin upon completing the astonishing No.500 mark in Test cricket and suggested that the man with a perennial thinking cap on should've been honoured with Test captaincy 2 years back. 

Ashwin clinched the remarkable 500 wickets milestone late on Day 2 of the Rajkot Test against England, reaching there in 98 Tests with a jaw-dropping average of 23.93 and becoming only the second Indian to do so after his inspiration and spin great Anil Kumble.

An absolute giant and legend of Indian cricket, the 37-year-old's tally includes 34 five-wicket hauls - an unprecedented figure in India's Test match history. He is overall the ninth bowler to have recorded 500 or more wickets in the longest version.


Gavaskar Says Ashwin Should've Captained India 

In his column for The Mid-Day, Gavaskar congratulated Ashwin for bagging an astonishing 500 scalps in Test cricket and said the intelligent cricketer should've been handed the India Test captaincy 2 years ago, when the selectors appointed experienced batter Rohit Sharma as successful leader Virat Kohli's replacement in 2022.

"Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on capturing his 500th Test wicket. What a tremendous cricketer he has been. One of the finest thinkers in the game and always willing to try something new and different, be it a run-up, delivery action and of course, deliveries to bamboozle the batter," Gavaskar wrote. 

"He should have been honoured with the India captaincy a couple of years back when there were two India teams playing around the same time. Well done, Ashwin, and wish you many more wickets, newer deliveries and different actions in the future."

Apart from his great list of fifers, Ashwin has had 24 instances of four wickets taken in an innings for the country. He has also been a wealthy contributor with the bat, scoring five Test centuries and averaging close to 27.