R Ashwin : If I get to 618, that will be my last Test match

While Kumble was not considered to be one of the most watchable spinners in Test cricket, no one can question his effectiveness. The legendary Indian leg-spinner, with 619 Test wickets, is only behind Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Shane Warne (708) on the all-time list of highest Test wicket-takers. Ashwin, who idolized the Kumble while growing up, has claimed 292 wickets so far in his career and at the age of 31 still has a lot of cricket left in him. But the Indian offie stated that if he got to within a wicket of the even equalling Kumble's record, he would hang up his boots.

While in Dubai to launch the Gen-Next Academy branch, Ashwin also talked about another one of his heroes who is still going strong - Rangana Herath. The Sri Lankan recently became only the second player from his country and 13th player in history to claim 400 Test wickets. Even at the age of 39, the Sri Lanka offie played a leading role in securing a 2-0 series victory against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.

Ashwin's numbers are staggering particularly if you consider the era in which he started playing cricket. In the 52 Tests he has played so far, the offie has bagged 292 wickets at an average of 25.26. But India's impressive talent producing system has made sure that Ashwin and his spin partner, Ravindra Jadeja, are not a part of the limited-overs setup right now. The duo have been dropped for three consecutive white-ball series, but Ashwin believes that he needs to be ready for when he is called upon.

“I don’t have an answer to that because resting [a player] and making decisions are definitely not something that I can comment on. Because I am not the one that is in charge and I am not the one who is responsible for making these decisions. So very clearly, as far as I am concerned, every day is about being better than what you have been previously. I am definitely focused on developing every single day and becoming a better cricketer because that is the only thing that will last. Tomorrow, if I am given an opportunity, I should be the best I can be and probably even the better than the best that I can be,” Ashwin explained.

“Obviously the scores are getting bigger and bigger and obviously the batsmen are getting better and better and you need to be able to adapt and I am definitely up for adapting to the different phases of the game,” he concluded.