Ashwin nears 500 Test wickets: The milestone will be on his mind, says Parthiv Patel

Ravichandran Ashwin is just 10 wickets away from 500 Test wickets which will make him the second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble to reach the landmark. With India playing five Tests against England starting 25 January there’s a good chance Ashwin will achieve the feat in the coming days. His focus, however, would be on the task at hand, which will be to guide India to victories. JioCinema experts Parthiv Patel and Zaheer Khan spoke about Ashwin being on the verge of the 500 Test wickets milestone.

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On Ravichandran Ashwin inching closer to 500 Test wickets

Zaheer: Ashwin would be itching to reach the milestone as it is a five-Test series. You know that if you can hit the ground running from the first match, you can have a staggering number in terms of that wickets tally. He has been doing that consistently in these conditions. So, he will be really waiting for the opportunity right now for the series to start and really be pumped and excited looking at the milestone as well, that he is so close to. A cluster of Test matches, be in good rhythm, that’s what I would be focusing on if I was Ashwin, right now.

Parthiv: It is a five-match series and I also wanted to point it out that for Ashwin to take 10 wickets, it is also important for somebody else to not take wickets, with the kind of form that Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are in. Regarding the milestone, yes, no matter how big a player you are, it will be on your mind. It is an achievement. 500 wickets do not come overnight, it is after 10-15 years of hard work, that you reach this stage. Very few achieve this milestone and I feel Ashwin will need two tests, at the most to reach there.

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