Ashwin-Jadeja combo rules bowling charts

BENGALURU: In 1974, there were no ICC rankings but topping the bowling charts was the lethal combination of Bishan Singh Bedi and BS Chandrasekar. Another Indian spin combo topping the charts has been 42 years in the making, with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja occupying the 1-2 spots in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers.
This is just the second time the top two spots in the bowlers chart is occupied by India players, with Bedi and Chandrasekhar being one and two in 1974 according to the ICC's retrospective rankings system.
While Ashwin leads the table with 887 ranking points, Jadeja has 879 in his kitty. Ashwin finished the year with 72 wickets coming off 12 Test matches, including the 28 wickets he claimed in the five-match Test series against England.
On the other hand, Jadeja, who ended the series with 26 wickets, signed off with 43 wickets from nine Test matches. Speaking about the duo, spin legend EAS Prasanna told TOI: “They are top-class spinners who complement each other. Ashwin is a brilliant spinner and the way he utilises the pitch is very interesting. He always has a wicket-taking approach and he is well supported by Jadeja, who puts pressure on the batsmen and always looks dangerous. Jadeja is a testing bowler who nags the batsmen. That helps Ashwin in planning and taking wickets.”
Prasanna, the senior of the dominant spin trio which was completed by Chandra and Bedi, pointed out the difference between the current bowlers and his times. “The difference between our times and now is that, back then we had 3-4 spinners usually operating and taking wickets. If we realized the other bowler did not bowl well, we had to lift our bowling capabilities. But here, you always have one bowler who looks dangerous. Also, the current lot has the great advantage of having three fast bowlers in Umesh (Yadav), (Mohammed) Shami, Ishant (Sharma) who work well with the spinners. According to me, the complementing of pace and spin is the highlight of this Indian side.”
Meanwhile, Bedi who did not want to be drawn into commenting on the number games, said, “I don't believe in discussing hypothetical things. In our time, we didn't have the ICC rankings and I don't like to comment much on that. But Ashwin and Jadeja are the top-ranked bowlers because they are a part of the No. 1 Test team. They both have done a magnificent job with the ball and are quite versatile. They are extremely fit and play all formats with same intensity.”