Sajid Khan vs R Ashwin - comparing the stats of the two after 12 Tests

Sajid Khan is one of the fastest rising stars in Test cricket. The off-spinner made his Test debut for Pakistan in 2021. In just 12 Test match appearances, the Pakistan spinner has made a huge impact on the team, helping the team win Tests against England and West Indies.

Since Sajid Khan is a right-arm off-spinner thriving in home conditions, cricket fans have started to compare him with India's great off-spin bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin. The veteran Indian player announced retirement last month after 106 appearances for the country in Tests from 2011 to 2024.

Since Khan has played only 12 Tests so far, it will be wrong to compare his stats with Ashwin after 106 matches. Hence, in this article, we will compare the numbers of the two players after 12 appearances only.

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#1 Sajid Khan vs R Ashwin - Who had more wickets after 12 Tests?

Sajid Khan has taken 59 wickets in 12 Test matches for Pakistan so far. The 31-year-old off-spinner has best figures of 8/42 in an innings. In the 12 games, Khan has bowled 2,823 balls. Notably, he has accounted for 28.64% of the wickets taken by Pakistan in the matches he has played.

Ravichandran Ashwin played the 12th Test of his career against England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in December 2012. He took three wickets across two innings of that Test, which took his total to 63 wickets from 12 games.

Thus, Ashwin had four wickets more than Khan after 12 Test appearances. He gets the first point in this comparison.

Score: Khan 0 - 1 Ashwin.

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#2 Sajid Khan vs R Ashwin - Who had the better bowling average after 12 Tests?

Bowling average is a key statistic in Test cricket because it shows after how many average number of runs does a bowler take a wicket for his team. Sajid Khan has maintained an impressive bowling average of 27.29 after 12 matches. It means he takes a wicket before conceding 28 runs on an average.

On the other side, Ravichandran Ashwin had a bowling average of 32.41 after his 12th Test for India. He entered his 12th Test with an average of 31.28, but it went up to 32.41 after the Test against England. Ashwin loses the point here because Sajid's average is better.

Score: Khan 1 - 1 Ashwin.

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#3 Khan vs Ashwin - Who had more 5-wicket hauls after 12 Tests?

A five-wicket haul is a major achievement in any format of cricket because it means that a single bowler has wiped out half of the opposite team's batting lineup. Sajid Khan has taken four five-wicket hauls in his short career for the Pakistan team so far.

On the other side, Ravichandran took six five-wicket hauls in 12 matches for India. He started off with a five-wicket haul on debut against West Indies and added more five-wicket hauls to his name in the next 11 matches. Thus, Ravichandran made a bigger impact than Sajid in his first 12 Tests.

Final score: Khan 1 - 2 Ashwin.