We have seen bowlers like Anil Kumble clean sweeping bowling records in the longer format, and Ravi Ashwin is their proper successor.
The soon to be 100-Tests player for India has wickets more than 400 in whites, standing only next to Anil Kumble in the spinners list for India in Test cricket wicket-taking.
Ashwin has also become only the sixth bowler to pick 300 Test wickets at home.
This article will see the progression of Ashwin’s Test cricket performances year by year.
Ravichandran Ashwin - Test Wickets Year-wise Stats
| YEAR | INNS | WKTS | BB/INNS | BB/MATCH | 5W/10W | AVG | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8 | 26 | 6/47 | 9/128 | 2/0 | 24.80 | 51.0 |
| 2012 | 15 | 37 | 6/31 | 12/85 | 3/1 | 37.75 | 71.8 |
| 2013 | 14 | 41 | 7/103 | 12/198 | 4/1 | 22.51 | 52.0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 10 | 3/72 | 5/209 | 0/0 | 43.80 | 84.7 |
| 2015 | 17 | 62 | 7/66 | 12/98 | 7/2 | 17.20 | 36.4 |
| 2016 | 23 | 72 | 7/59 | 13/140 | 8/3 | 23.90 | 48.7 |
| 2017 | 21 | 56 | 6/41 | 8/125 | 2/0 | 27.58 | 59.3 |
| 2018 | 19 | 38 | 4/27 | 7/121 | 0/0 | 25.36 | 60.9 |
| 2019 | 9 | 20 | 7/145 | 8/189 | 1/0 | 24.15 | 52.0 |
| 2020 | 5 | 13 | 4/55 | 5/71 | 0/0 | 21.23 | 52.6 |
| 2021 | 18 | 54 | 6/61 | 9/207 | 3/0 | 16.64 | 43.0 |
| 2022 | 12 | 20 | 4/47 | 6/85 | 0/0 | 27.70 | 57.7 |
| 2023 | 13 | 41 | 7/71 | 12/131 | 4/1 | 17.02 | 40.3 |
| 2024 | 21 | 47 | 6/88 | 9/128 | 3/0 | 27.25 | 42.9 |
| TOTAL | 200 | 537 | 7/59 | 13/140 | 37/8 | 24.00 | 50.7 |
Stats Highlights
Even though the conditions-wise stat analysis of Ashwin shows his away bowling records relatively poor, it is mainly based on two countries, Australia and South Africa, where the visiting spinners do struggle to make an impact. As a result, his average and strike rate took a beating whenever he bowled in these two hosting countries.
Year-wise, Ashwin’s best two years came in succession in 2015 and 2016. 2016 is also the best year of Virat Kohli, in of average and the quality of opposition he played against.
It was 2016 when Ashwin made a lot of impact by picking up his career-best bowling performance by innings (7/59) and match (13/140) (both in the same game). His away record of 7/83 against West Indies in North Sound also came in this year. His best 5-wicket-hauls and 10-wicket-hauls number came in 2016 too.
