Ashwin will become best spin all-rounder of all time

Ravichandran Ashwin, the man of the series in the recently-concluded Test series between India and New Zealand, will create some unique achievements that will be hard to replicate.

The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has his Uranus, Planet-X and Planet-Z in exaltation simultaneously, which makes him really special. Despite the disadvantage of starting late in Test cricket – at the age of 25 compared to 18 of Harbhajan Singh and 20 of Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan – Ashwin has been the fastest to reach 50, 100, 150 and 200 wickets.

His strong planets indicate that he will continue to do the same en route to his 300, 400 and 500 wickets as well. Chances are high that the 30-year-old will continue to play cricket at the highest level till 2023-24.

In the final analysis, while he will definitely surpass Harbhajan's tally of 417 Test wickets, Ashwin may fall short of Kumble's 619. But his feats will be a notch higher than all other spinners, for he would have taken those wickets in lesser number of Test matches and in fewer playing years.

Ashwin will probably become the best spin all-rounder of all time. Expect him to score a few more Test centuries, as well as top the charts in the shorter formats as well.

The Chennai lad's captaincy skill is another area that the world is yet to discover. Expect some smart IPL team to make him their captain and reap rich rewards. Just like Kumble, this engineer may even get a chance to lead India at some point of the team's transition.