STATS
Follow UsIndian spin maestro Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket on December 18 (Wednesday), post the conclusion of the Brisbane Test match between India and Australia. By doing so, the spin bowling legend put an end to an illustrious 14-year career in the international circuit in which he outrightly established himself as not just one of India’s greatest ever match winners, but one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the sport.
There was always more to Ashwin than what met the eye, still his numbers and achievements itself go a long way in underlining his greatness and legacy. 
Most wickets for India in international cricket
953 – Anil Kumble
765 – Ravichandran Ashwin
707 – Harbhajan Singh
687 – Kapil Dev
597 – Zaheer Khan
Most wickets for India in Tests
619 – Anil Kumble
537 – Ravichandran Ashwin
434 – Kapil Dev
417 – Harbhajan Singh
319 – Ravindra Jadeja
Most five wicket hauls for India in Tests
37 – Ravichandran Ashwin
35 – Anil Kumble
25 – Harbhajan Singh
23 – Kapil Dev
16 – BS Chandrashekar
Most five wicket hauls for India in a calendar year in Tests
8 – Ravichandran Ashwin, 2016
7 - Ravichandran Ashwin, 2015
6 – Subhash Gupte, 1955
6 – Harbhajan Singh, 2001
6 – Anil Kumble, 2004
Most wickets for India in international cricket in winning cause
543 - Ravichandran Ashwin
486 - Anil Kumble
437 - Ravindra Jadeja
406- Harbhajan Singh
349 - Zaheer Khan
Most wickets for India in ICC T20 World Cup
32 – Ravichandran Ashwin
27 – Arshdeep Singh
26 – Jasprit Bumrah
24 – Hardik Pandya
22 – Ravindra Jadeja
Most wickets against an opponent for India in international cricket
150 – Ravichandran Ashwin vs England
146 - Ravichandran Ashwin vs Australia
142 – Anil Kumble vs Australia
141 – Kapil Dev vs Pakistan
135 - Anil Kumble vs Pakistan
Why Ashwin is one of the greatest match-winners to have played this sport
Most player of the series awards in Tests
11 - Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
11 - Muttiah Muralidaran (Sri Lanka)
9 - Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
8 - Richard Hadlee (New Zealand)
8 - Imran Khan (South Africa)
8 - Shane Warne (Australia)
Best bowling SR for a spinner in Tests (150+ wickets)
50.7 – Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
54.0 – Stuart MacGill (Australia)
55.0 – Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
57.1 – Ravindra Jadeja (India)
57.1 – Keshav Maharaj (South Africa)
Best average for a spinner in second innings in Tests in Asia (150+ wickets)
21.08 - Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
21.39 - Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
21.60 - Ravindra Jadeja (India)
22.04 - Derek Underwood (England)
22.85 - Shane Warne (Australia)
Most instances of a player scoring a hundred and taking a five wicket haul in the same Test
5 – Ian Botham (England)
4 – Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
2 – Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
2 – Ravindra Jadeja (India)
2 – Gary Sobers (West Indies)
2 – Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Most “ Player of the series” award at home in Tests
9 - Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
8 - Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
6 - Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
5 - Joe Root (England)
5 - Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)
5 - Graham Gooch (England)
Number of Test hundreds scored by players with 500+ Test wickets
6 - Ravichandran Ashwin
1 - Stuart Broad
1 - Anil Kumble
Quirky Ashwin stats
Most wickets against left-hand batters in Tests
268 - Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
221 - James Anderson (England)
193 - Stuart Broad (England)
188 - Nathan Lyon (Australia)
Most LBW & bowled dismissals during Ashwin's career in Tests (Nov 2011 - Dec 2024)
225 - Ravichandran Ashwin (116 - LBW & 109 - Bowled)
159 - Stuart Broad (83 - LBW & 76 - Bowled)
153 - James Anderson (72 - LBW & 81 - Bowled)
149 - Rangana Herath (83 - LBW & 66 - Bowled)
147 - Nathan Lyon (82 LBW & 65 - Bowled)
Most wickets opening the bowling among spinners in Tests
180 – Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
104 – Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)
93 – Hugh Trumble (England)
88 – Booby Peel (England)
Most 100s at #8 or lower at home in Tests
4 – Ravichandran Ashwin (India)
3 – Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)
2 – Mark Boucher (South Africa)
2 – MS Dhoni (India)
2 – Harbhajan Singh (India)
Oldest to take a five wicket haul for India in Tests
38y 2d – Ravichandran Ashwin vs Bangladesh, Chennai, 2024
37y 206d – Vinoo Mankad vs Pakistan, Peshawar, 1955
37y 172d - Ravichandran Ashwin vs England, Dharmasala, 2024
37y 159d - Ravichandran Ashwin vs England, Ranchi, 2024
37y 70d – Anil Kumble vs Australia, Melbourne, 2007
Ravichandran Ashwin unique records
> Fastest to 250 & 300 Test wickets
> Fastest to 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 & 500 wickets for India in Tests
> Only player to score 5+ hundreds and take 30+ five wicket hauls in Tests
> Only player to score a hundred & take a five wicket haul at the same venue twice in Tests - vs ENG, 2021 & vs BAN, 2024 in Chennai
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