Muttiah Muralitharan: Ashwin can reach 800 wickets in Tests

Ashwin upstaged Muralitharan as the second-fastest bowler to reach 200 Test wickets during the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur recently. The Sri Lankan had reached the milestone in 42 Tests, while it took Ashwin only 37 Tests to get there.

"Firstly, Ashwin always had the basics in place, was willing to learn and get better at his craft. Secondly, like any bowler of international repute, Ashwin has learned the art of remaining patient in order to get the wickets. He is ready to bide his time and work his way through in order to outdo the batsman," the spin great explained.

"I had the opportunity to play county cricket which helped me understand the conditions better in England. When I got to play Tests against England, I knew the areas to bowl at. May be, Ashwin too would do well if he plays county as that's the perfect platform to learn how to bowl on wickets that traditionally assists the faster bowlers," Murali said.

"If you have taken 810 wickets on pitches that assist spin, you would end up getting lesser purchase on wickets that are pacer-friendly, but you still are the team's premium bowler. Ashwin is experienced enough to know the areas he has to work on and come up trumps.