"He has been absolutely sensational" - Aakash Chopra picks R Ashwin as India's Test bowler of 2021
Aakash Chopra has picked R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah as India's best Test and T20I bowlers of the year, respectively.
Ashwin has picked up 52 Test wickets so far in 2021, the only bowler in the world to snare more than fifty scalps this year. Meanwhile, Bumrah has taken seven wickets in the five T20Is he has played for Team India in 2021.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra named R Ashwin as India's Test bowler of the year ahead of Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Bumrah. He said:
"This has been a very interesting year. There was one bowler who took five 5-wicket hauls; his name is Bapu. Then we saw the rise of Mohammed Siraj - he bowled amazingly well. Jasprit Bumrah was also doing well in England, but my Indian Test bowler of 2021 has to be Ravichandran Ashwin. He has been absolutely sensational."
The former India cricketer highlighted that the wily off-spinner has taken a bagful of wickets despite missing quite a few Test matches. Aakash Chopra elaborated:
"He has taken 52 wickets. He didn't play the Gabba Test, didn't play a single match in England. That means he has missed five Test matches. He has scored runs as well, but I am not talking about his batting. He would have taken 70 wickets if he had played all matches."
Aakash Chopra added that Ashwin has already surpassed Harbhajan Singh's 417-wicket tally in Tests. It may not be long before he overtakes Kapil Dev to become India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests. Chopra said in this regard:
"He has crossed the 417-wicket mark. He is very close to reaching Kapil paaji's record; he will cross that; that's a given. But the way he has bowled and changed and won matches. Jadeja was not there with him most of the times because Jadeja has been injured. Axar was there, but Jadeja was not there."
Ashwin @ 427
4 behind Richard Hadlee
6 behind Rangana Herath
7 behind KAPIL DEV ๐ฎ๐ณ
12 behind Dale Steyn https://t.co/3MVY8j9aUC
Ashwin did not have the support of his most trusted partner, Ravindra Jadeja, in five of the six Tests he has played on home soil this year. However, he was ably assisted by Axar Patel, who scalped 36 wickets in the five matches he has played.
Aakash Chopra's pick of India's T20I bowler of 2021
Aakash Chopra pointed out that India's best T20I bowler of the year is not a straightforward choice. He reasoned:
"If we talk about T20Is, it is very interesting because Bhuvneshwar Kumar has picked the most wickets, but has he been India's best T20 bowler - I don't think so. Deepak Chahar's stocks have gone down; Shardul Thakur has performed well once in a while."
The reputed commentator opted to pick Jasprit Bumrah as India's standout bowler of the year in the shortest format of the game. Aakash Chopra said:
"Ravichandran Ashwin has done well in the end; Varun Chakravarthy also played a few matches. You know what - I am just going with quality. He played just five matches - Jasprit Bumrah - but the way he has bowled, he looks at a different level. He is my T20 bowler of 2021."
Jasprit Bumrah in T20 World Cup 2021:
Overs - 18.4
Wickets - 7
Average - 13.57
Economy - 5.08
Strike Rate - 16
Best bowling figure - 2/10
Best player for India in this tournament.
All five of Bumrah's T20I games this year came at the T20 World Cup in the UAE. His seven wickets came at an excellent average of 13.57 along with an outstanding economy of 5.08.