3 milestones Ravichandran Ashwin can reach when India face New Zealand and England

With the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) coming to a premature end due to the COVID-19 crisis in India, the focus shifts to the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand, followed by the five-match Test series against England.

The title clash will start on June 18 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, while the five-match Test series against Joe Root & Co is scheduled to commence on August 4 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on May 7, announced a 20-member squad along with four standby players for the long tour of the UK.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel were picked as spinners. In the absence of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, they will add more depth to the batting order in English conditions.

All eyes will be on Ashwin, who has improved his game by leaps and bounds in recent times. His match-saving innings of unbeaten 39 runs against Australia in Sydney alongside Hanuma Vihari will go down as one of the best in history. The cricketer from Tamil Nadu was also in his element during the home Test series against England, returning with 32 wickets from four outings.

Ravichandran Ashwin will be tempted to prove his pedigree once again in English conditions and guide India to glory.

On that note, let us take a look at three milestones Ravichandran Ashwin can reach as India face New Zealand and England:

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#1) Eight wickets short of equalling Harbhajan Singh's Test records

The 34-year-old all-rounder will land in England with 409 Test wickets under his belt. He will have the opportunity to overtake Harbhajan Singh in the list of top Indian Test wicket-takers.

Ashwin currently stands eight wickets short of equalling Harbhajan's tally of 417. He will get six Test matches (one ICC World Test Championship final and five Test matches against England) to go past the Turbanator.

If he manages to do so, Ravichandran Ashwin will become India's second most successful spinner in Tests after Anil Kumble (619 wickets). He will also become India's third-highest Test wicket-taker after Kumble and Kapil Dev (434).

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#2) Ravichandran Ashwin needs five five-wicket hauls to equal the record of highest number of fifers among Indians

The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu is known for dominating opposition batters every time he goes out on a cricket field. Ravichandran Ashwin has 30 five-wicket hauls under his belt from 78 Test matches.

He is currently sitting in second place among Indians with the most Test five-wicket hauls after Anil Kumble (35). Ashwin needs five more fifers to equal Kumble's record and six five-fors to be the Indian with the highest number of TEst five-wicket hauls.

Overall, he is currently placed sixth on the list. Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan leads the chart with 67 five-wicket hauls. Shane Warne (37), Richard Hadlee (36), Anil Kumble (35), Rangana Herath (34) are also currently ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin.

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#3) Needs two 10-wicket hauls to be the Indian with the highest number of ten-wicket hauls

Ravichandran Ashwin will land in England to play six Test matches with seven ten-wicket hauls in his kitty from 78 outings. The veteran spinner will be eyeing big as India look to lift the first-ever ICC World Test Championship trophy. He will look to go past former India skipper Anil Kumble on the list of the most ten-wicket hauls by an Indian cricketer.

Ashwin is currently ninth on the overall list of Test ten-wicket hauls and is the second Indian behind Anil Kumble. He will require only one ten-wicket haul to match Kumble's tally of eight ten-wicket hauls.

If Ravichandran Ashwin manages to pick up two ten-wicket hauls, he will have nine under his belt - the most by an Indian bowler.

Meanwhile, Muttiah Muralitharan once again leads the chart with 22 ten-wicket hauls followed by Shane Warne (10). Richard Hadlee and Rangana Herath have nine ten-wicket hauls each while Anil Kumble occupies the fifth spot.