6 of India's greatest spin bowlers in Tests

#2 Ravichandran Ashwin

The off-spinner made his Test debut against West Indies in 2011 and recorded figures of 6/47 in the second innings of the match. When New Zealand toured India in 2012, the Tamil Nadu bowler pocketed 18 wickets in just two matches at an impressive average of 13. Ever since, he has been on a roll.

Standing at 6’ 2” means that Ashwin gets natural bounce. He is never afraid of flighting the ball and it has played a major role in his success. There was a phase in between, when the offie started experimenting too much. However, for the past few years, it has been his stock delivery and the standard variations that have gotten him all the success.

In the Border-Gavaskar trophy of 2012-13, Ashwin finished the series as the highest wicket-taker with 29 wickets. He performed decently when he toured Australia in 2014-15 and managed to take 12 wickets in the three games that he played.

When India visited Sri Lanka for Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell series, the Tamil Nadu spinner again finished as the highest wicket-taker with 21 wickets. He dismissed Sangakkara four times in the three-match series.

Ashwin was named the “ICC cricketer of the year” and “ICC Test cricketer of the year” in 2016. He also beat Dennis Lilee to become the fastest player ever to reach 300 test wickets.

Just at the age of 31, the Arjuna awardee has 26 five-wicket hauls and looks set for more. At the moment, he ranks among the best spinners in the world.