"He has faced criticism as well" - Parthiv Patel lauds Ravichandran Ashwin for reaching the 500-wicket mark in Tests

Parthiv Patel has lauded Ravichandran Ashwin for overcoming setbacks and criticism to reach the 500-wicket mark in Tests.

Ashwin dismissed Zak Crawley on the second day of the third Test between India and England in Rajkot on Friday (February 16) to reach the coveted milestone. He registered figures of 1/37 in seven overs as Ben Stokes and company ended the day at 207/2 in their first innings in response to India's 445-run total.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Parthiv was asked about his thoughts on Ashwin's accomplishment. He responded:

"It's a massive achievement if see everything. It's been a long career of 13 years, 98 matches and he has bowled more than 25000 balls. So you can understand how much effort he would have put in. You don't get 500 wickets just like that"

"He has gone through a lot of ups and downs. We have seen in quite a few tours where sometimes Ravindra Jadeja used to become the No. 1 choice spinner and Ravichandran Ashwin at other times. He has faced criticism as well that he got wickets because of the pitches that were prepared in India," the former India wicketkeeper-batter added.

Parthiv noted that Ashwin becoming just the second Indian bowler to achieve the milestone shows the enormity of the achievement. He added that it's a proud moment for India too as only nine bowlers in the world have reached the landmark in Test history.

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"He is not the same cricketer he was when he started" - Owais Shah praises Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin had Zak Crawley caught by Rajat Patidar to reach the 500-wicket mark. [P/C: Getty]

Owais Shah praised Ravichandran Ashwin for adding new facets to his game throughout his career. He elaborated:

"Huge achievement. I am sure he won't mind me saying that he is not the same cricketer he was when he started, and that is the beautiful thing about him. He evolved as a bowler and converted himself into an all-rounder as well. He is a decent batter also now and is termed an all-rounder."

The former England batter was further asked where he would rate the Indian off-spinner among the five spinners who have reached the 500-wicket mark. He replied:

"Right up there. When you speak about all these great spinners, batters didn't use to play like this against them. However, he still has so much skill and the way he has adapted himself, a class bowler and a complete cricketer. He is a very integral part of Team India."

Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), Anil Kumble (619) and Nathan Lyon (517) are the other spinners to have reached the 500-wicket mark in Tests. Ashwin is the second-fastest to reach the milestone in terms of number of innings, behind only Muralitharan.