Ashwin's already a great, but not as attacking as Harbhajan: Hayden

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden feels Ravichandran Ashwin's stats are "simply phenomenal" but Harbhajan Singh in his prime had to shoulder more responsibility since he did not have the fast bowling support which the Tamil Nadu tweaker gets

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden feels Ravichandran Ashwin's stats are "simply phenomenal" but Harbhajan Singh in his prime had to shoulder more responsibility since he did not have the fast bowling support which the Tamil Nadu tweaker gets.

Matthew Hayden

Record-breaker
Ashwin recently broke Dennis Lillee's record to become the fastest bowler to 300 wickets in 54 Test matches. Hayden had faced Harbhajan in his prime and also watched young Ashwin during his days with Chennai Super Kings. "I think stats often lie but having said that, some of the milestone show remarkable respect to Ashwin, who is fastest to 300 wickets in Test cricket. Even if he (Ashwin) plays for another five years, he would be remembered as one of the greats of his generation. His skill-set, like Harbhajan, is masterful but he is probably not as attacking an off-spinner as Harbhajan was," Hayden told PTI.

Pace support matters
He put the comparison in context by taking into account the kind of bowling attacks these two had for support. "But then Ashwin doesn't really need to be as attacking as Bhajji. His role within this side is well-defined by a slightly better fast bowling attack (as support cast) than what my generation was facing," he said.

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