Here are 20 reasons why R Ashwin is India's best all-rounder right now

R Ashwin L succesafully appeals for an LBW decision against England batsman Ben Stokes on the third day of the third Test match between India and England at The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on Monday PicAFPRavichandran Ashwin is not only Indias spin spearhead but also a vital cog as a batsman in Virat Kohlis plan to dominate world cricketAshwin put up a lionhearted performance at Mohali scoring a 72 and bagging four wickets as India produced a clinical performance to cruise to a comfortable eightwicket victory on the fourth day of the third Test against England and thereby take a 20 lead in the fivematch seriesAshwin has taken 15 wickets in the series so far and accumulated 239 runs at an average of 4780 also proving that he is the right choice for the crucial No 6 batting positionAshwin who was the fastest in the Test cricket history to take 75 wickets and score more than 500 runs has come in for praise from all quarters for his allround performance And while it may be too early to rate him as the cricketer to fill the void left by the legendary Kapil Dev the Chennai lad is definitely the best allrounder India has at the momentIndian batting legendand commentator Sunil Gavaskar is known for his straight talk and he believes the 30yearold spinner has the capability to even open the batting for India Well if that aint a vote of confidence than what isLegendary India tweaker Erapalli Prasanna had also rated the offie as the best spinner in the cricket worldIf these are enough how about some numbers After all numbers dont lieWell here are some statistical highlights that prove whyRavichandran Ashwin is the best allrounder India has had in a while1 Ravichandran Ashwin 72 Ravindra Jadeja 90 and Jayant Yadav 55 provided the first occasion of a number seven eight and nine recording fiftyplus scores in the same Test innings for India in the first innings at Mohali vs England In all the said instance is the seventh in the history of Test cricket2 Ashwin has dismissed England skipper and opener Alastair Cook seven times in nine Tests The four bowlers to have taken Cooks wicket more times than Ashwin are Mitchell Johnson 9 Ishant Sharma 8 Morne Morkel 8 and Ryan Harris 8 Australias Ed Cowan and Cook are the two batsmen dismissed by Ashwin most times in Tests 7 times each3 Ashwin 72 has posted his highest score while batting at number seven eclipsing the 70 at Rajkot in the first Test of the current seriesR Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja walk off the field after the end of the 2nd days play of 3rd IndiaEngland test match in Mohali on Sunday PicPTI4 Ashwin has posted three 50plus innings in the present series a distinction recorded by him for the first time in a Test series His scores being 70 at Rajkot 58 at Visakhapatnam and an unbeaten 57 at Mohali5 Ashwin during his unbeaten 57 has become the second Indian allrounder to manage 500 runs or more apart from capturing 50 wickets in the same calendar year in Tests his tally being 530 runs ave4818 and 56 wickets at 2260 runs apiece in 10 Tests Kapil Dev had achieved the distinction twice in 1979 and 1983 Overall seven allrounders have accomplished the double 10 times in a calendar year in Tests6 Ashwin has become the fifth Indian allrounder to achieve the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests at home the first four being Vinoo Mankad Kapil Dev Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh7 Ashwin has scored five 50plus scores in 12 innings in Tests in 2016 equalling the second most for India Only Cheteshwar Pujara with seven in 13 innings is ahead of Ashwin Virat Kohli also has five such scores in 15 innings this year8 R Ashwin has taken 59 wickets in 10 Tests so far in 2016 the most by any He went past Rangana Heraths tally of 54 wickets in eight Tests this year during his matchwinning performance against England in Vizag He finished as the leading wickettaker in Tests last year as well with 62 scalps9 Ashwin with 235 scalps has the most wickets in Test cricket after 42 matches beating legendary Australian legspinner Clarrie Grimmett Grimmett took 216 wickets in 37 Tests10 R Ashwin has taken 22nd fivefors in Test cricket Though he is only 15th on the rung of bowlers with most fifers in Tests the offie has a long way to go in international cricket and should surpass many of the greats ahead of him Sri Lankas Muttiah Muralitharan with 67 fifers leads the way followed by Aussie legspinner Shane Warne with 37 Kiwi legendary pacer Sir Richard Hadlee with 36 and current India coach and former leggie Anil Kumble with 3511 Ashwin had become the second fastest ever and the quickest Indian to reach 200 Test wickets when he got rid of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in the first Test in Kanpur in September12 Ashwin took nine wickets in his maiden Test against West Indies the secondhighest by an Indian debutant after Narendra Hirwanis 16 and won the ManoftheMatch award It only got better from there he registered nine fivefors in his first 16 Tests and in 2013 broke Erapalli Prasannas Indian record for the fastest to 100 Test wickets by reaching the landmark in his 18th game13 Ashwin who has won seven Man of the Series awards is already ahead of legendary allrounders Kapil Dev Ian Botham Imran Khan and Richard Hadlee after 40 Tests14 Ashwin holds the records for being the fastest Indian to 50 100 and 150 Test wickets He got his 50th wicket in his ninth Test beating previous holder Anil Kumble by one match 100th in his 18th Test beating previous holder EAS Prasanna by two games and 150th scalp in hi 29th Test beating previous holder EAS Prasanna by five games15 Ashwin is the joint fastest along with Ian Botham and Jack Gregory to reach the double of having taken 50 wickets and scored 500 runs in Tests All three cricketers got to their landmarks in their 11th Test Among all Indians with the 100 wicket1000 run double Ashwinrsquos batting average of 3426 is second only to that of Ravi Shastri His bowling average of 2520 is the best among allrounders which makes his overall numbers better than the likes of Kapil Dev Vinoo Mankad and Anil Kumble16 Ashwins tally of six tenwicket hauls in a Test match is bettered only by Anil Kumble 817 Ashwin enjoys an outstanding record in Test wins his tally being 163 wickets in 23 Tests including 18 fivewicket hauls and five instances of ten wickets or more in a Test match18 Ashwins tally of 163 wickets in wins is the third highest for India in Tests next only to the 288 by Anil Kumble and 221 by Harbhajan Singh19 Ashwins distinction of taking 200 wickets in 37 Tests is the second fastest by a bowler in Tests next only to Australias Clarrie Grimmett 3720 His batting average of 3498 is better than the averages of worldclass all rounders like Kapil Dev Ian Botham Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan who averaged approximately 31 33 27 and 37 respectively