Gary Sobers, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Jacques Kallis… Ravi Ashwin?
After taking another 12 wicket haul against England in the fourth Test in Mumbai, Ashwin continues to dominate on subcontinent pitches, while his record away from home remains underwhelming.
Based purely on his stats, it is fair to call Ashwin a genuine all-rounder.
His Test batting average of 34, with four centuries – all against the West Indies – is on the rise.
His bowling average of 24 puts him in rare company when you consider how many overs he bowls.
He is a relentless spinner who can tear through a top order in no time if the conditions suit his style of bowling.
The truth is that Ashwin has very little competition for the title of the best all-rounder in the modern game.
Many teams have moved on from the idea of having a genuine all-rounder, given how hard it is to be proficient at two skills in the modern game.
The ICC player rankings for Test all-rounders feature Shakib Al Hasan in second spot, which is fair, given how successful he has been for nearly a decade.
Ben Stokes is third and has the potential to succeed in both areas of the game. However, his bowling is often seen as just an added bonus, given how few overs he bowls.
The rest of the top ten offers little hope, with Rangana Herath somehow sneaking into tenth place.
After the spectacular failure of the Mitch Marsh experiment, there doesn’t seem to be many new all-rounders coming through to compete with that top three.
So Ashwin remains on top, for now.
Is he just another spinner who thrives in dry conditions?
Or will he go down as one of the great all-rounders of the modern era?
Michael Blumel
Roar Pro
I'm a big Pollock fan but he just didn't make enough big scores to really cement himself as one of the great all rounders. He only scored 2 centuries in 156 innings which is great for some who opens the bowling and bats at 8 but not quite enough to push him into this conversation.
Michael Blumel
Roar Pro
The only problem is that Mitch Marsh can't score runs at home or away haha. I get your point but it's the same with many fast bowlers struggling in dry conditions. It's not like wins at home are worthless. They've helped the Indians reach no.1. But it would be good to see Ashwin improve away from home, which I expect he will later next year. Before that he still needs to have some more fun against the Aussies in India.
william
Guest
Shaun Pollock...did that all by batting at number 8...yet he never seems to be in any conversation
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Hard to argue Ronan. Since he was last in Oz, where he was more value as a batsman than bowler, he's added so much to his bowling. Bowling at home helps but he'll get wickets anywhere now and he's nigh unplayable in India. He's just so consistent and seems to be getting better at both skills every outing. A really great player who can be the difference between winning and losing tests and series.
BurgyGreen
Guest
Very impressive player but still has plenty to prove away from home. Stokes is his only rival at the moment, although Neesham and Corey Anderson will hopefully get fit and come into their own fairly soon.
Brasstacks
Guest
Ashwin has to prove his bowling caliber away from home, but not his batting. He has 3 fifties in the UK, 1 in OZ and a test match ninety odd in RSA. He has always been a reliable batsman because of his string defence and calm temperament. He would have scored more than 3000 runs by now had Dhoni not made him languish at number 8 for the first 4 years of his career.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
I just enjoy picking on you Tim because I enjoy the banter. No offence! It's the naughty side of me you see here! And I truly enjoy your passion for the game. Peace!
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
I enjoy banter but it seems you take offence to a persons right to an opinion and feel the need to call people out. Many share the same view I have of Kohli on here but it seems your sole focus is on me. Maybe it is because I am prominent on all the India/England threads. I think I am also a tad sensitive of Indian fanbois antics after having a prominent role on SportsKeeda when Porush Jain created it. I am still copping abuse for some of the views i had on there :) And I respect you as a fine student of the game
matth
Guest
I'm sure leaving Botham out of your comparison list was just an oversight. And obviously you missed Shane Watson ... Anyway, seriously Ashwin is very, very good right now. The best of the current crop. He is let down by his record away from India and Sri Lanka and we won't see him have the chance to rectify that for a couple of years. However, when he next tours he will likely be at his peak as a spinner and there will be no excuses. His batting has really come along, again in local conditions though. Stokes is his main challenger, and then there are a couple of New Zealanders out there who may yet make their mark (Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham). Shakib just doesn't get enough test cricket to show his wares. Imagine his stats if he could get into a groove rather than playing a test or two every year.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
He's probably the best at the moment. Whether that stays the same going forwards, who knows...... I would like to see a small improvement on his away record, even thought it's not as bad as I expected. But still bowling average should get below thirty and batting average should get up towards 35.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Ouch! ?
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
If you take away his record against the Windies, his away record read likes this Batting average 24.9 with no centuries Bowling average 36.66 with 50 wickets Very Mitch Marsh like :)
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Ashwin is an incredible player - quite possibly the most valuable Test player in the world. His away record will improve a lot in the coming years I think and even as it stands now it is not bad: Bowling average 33, batting average 30.
Dreadly
Guest
"his record away from home remains underwhelming." You've answered your question right there. 180 wickets at home with over 1/2 the remaining 60 odd coming in SL and WI says to me he has a way to go before being in the exalted company of Kallis, Dev, Hadlee and co.
Graham Spalding
Roar Rookie
Agreed, of his 247 wickets, 180 were in India, 17 in West Indies and 21 in Sri Lanka. Definitely needs to prove his away game is up with the greats. His batting average is also boosted by his India and West Indies (4 innings, 2 hundreds) record.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
I think another trick Cook misses is Bowling Joe Root as a spinner more often. He is a far more clever off spinner than Moeen and if used well could become a decent all rounder to add to his phenomenal batting skills.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Tim - I did manage to get you going on that one! Chill , it's all in good spirit this season! And your admiration for Kapil is well noted and indeed well deserved. His 175* from 17 for 5 in 1983 is an innings not many will forget. Your advice though is well received. I will be wrong, and I am sure more often than not, like most predictors of anything, and I have no problem taking it when I am proved wrong. But I will express my views when I disagree with something. That's just me. And by the way I am not an idiot (even if I may appear to be a pig headed one sometimes ?) and I don't expect Ashwin to take 12 wickets in a match in england or australia but I do believe he will put up a better showing than he has in the past because he has matured. And I believe Kohli will do far better than his previous average of 13 in england but unlikely he will have an average above 100 like he has in this series. So my arguments on those two have always been relative rather than absolute.
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
I think they fell into the trap that Kapil was an anomaly in respect to being a great fast bowler in an era in Indian cricket where everything was about spin. Hence they always batted him lower. He was exceptional as a batsman to me, and as a 5/6 would have been very very good As for Stokes, his current averages is more a pointer to his stage in the game. You laud Ashwin, but fail to mention that at 25 he had only just got into the Indian team, Stokes at the same age has played 31 tests. If you compare Stokes accomplishments to Ashwin when he is 30, I think he will be a 40/30 type allrounder, plus the other factor about Stokes is he is one of the best fielders in the game Ashwin is at the top at present, but has reached his peak whereas Stokes has huge upside
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
Tim has a few Indian pet peeves as we know and Ashwin is one of them (the other being Kohli) the fact i talk so highly about Kapil Dev shows this Anindya.......... I think you obviously have some major bias that blinds you from reality A word of advice, it is not wise to call people out as you do on these type of sites as you have done with a few. For if, and when the players you so laud do struggle they will remember you being cheeky. And when they comeback at you, lets hope you do not take it the wrong way for it will make you look a bit childish
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Stokes is nowhere near Ashwin at this point. Tim has a few Indian pet peeves as we know and Ashwin is one of them (the other being Kohli) ? In this instance I am afraid he is letting that get ahead of his normal sensible self! As of today, in terms of where he is as far as both bowling and batting are concerned Ashwin is miles above anyone else as far as an all rounder is concerned. Stokes has the potential to get there and I like his bowling, but he is grossly underused in my opinion. As far as batting goes, that is his primary job and he should be way more consistent than he currently is. Whether Ashwin will be one of the great all rounders time will tell. I believe he will show he can take wickets abroad when India start traveling abroad and his technique and batting ability will ensure he keeps making runs. In a couple of years I think he will start being talked about in the same breath as a Kallis.