We have seen bowlers like Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble clean sweeping bowling records in the longer format, and Ravichandran Ashwin was their worthy successor.
The legendary off-spinner, who played 106 Test matches for India before retiring from international cricket in December 2024, ended his career with 537 wickets in whites, standing only next to Anil Kumble in the list of Indian spinners with the most Test cricket wickets.
He is also one of only a few bowlers to pick 300 Test wickets at home.
In his final Test series, he also achieved the rare feat of taking a five-wicket haul in his 100th Test match.
This article will see the progression of Ashwin’s illustrious Test cricket performances year by year.
Ravichandran Ashwin – Test Wickets Year-wise Stats
| YEAR | INNS | WKTS | BB/INNS | BB/MATCH | 5W/10W | AVG | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8 | 26 | 6/47 | 9/128 | 2/0 | 24.80 | 51.0 |
| 2012 | 15 | 37 | 6/31 | 12/85 | 3/1 | 37.75 | 71.8 |
| 2013 | 14 | 41 | 7/103 | 12/198 | 4/1 | 22.51 | 52.0 |
| 2014 | 5 | 10 | 3/72 | 5/209 | 0/0 | 43.80 | 84.7 |
| 2015 | 17 | 62 | 7/66 | 12/98 | 7/2 | 17.20 | 36.4 |
| 2016 | 23 | 72 | 7/59 | 13/140 | 8/3 | 23.90 | 48.7 |
| 2017 | 21 | 56 | 6/41 | 8/125 | 2/0 | 27.58 | 59.3 |
| 2018 | 19 | 38 | 4/27 | 7/121 | 0/0 | 25.36 | 60.9 |
| 2019 | 9 | 20 | 7/145 | 8/189 | 1/0 | 24.15 | 52.0 |
| 2020 | 5 | 13 | 4/55 | 5/71 | 0/0 | 21.23 | 52.6 |
| 2021 | 18 | 54 | 6/61 | 9/207 | 3/0 | 16.64 | 43.0 |
| 2022 | 12 | 20 | 4/47 | 6/85 | 0/0 | 27.70 | 57.7 |
| 2023 | 13 | 41 | 7/71 | 12/131 | 4/1 | 17.02 | 40.3 |
| 2024 | 21 | 47 | 6/88 | 9/128 | 3/0 | 27.25 | 42.9 |
| TOTAL | 200 | 537 | 7/59 | 13/140 | 37/8 | 24.00 | 50.7 |
Explore More Ravi Ashwin Records
Ashwin Test Wickets Country-wise
Every Records that Ravichandran Ashwin holds in International Cricket
Ravichandran Ashwin’s Most Dismissed Batsmen in Test Cricket
Ashwin’s clean sweep against Australia in 2013 – A rare record!
Stats Highlights from Ashwin’s Illustrious Test Career
Even though the conditions-wise stat analysis of Ashwin shows his away bowling records relatively poor, it is mainly based on two countries — Australia and South Africa — where visiting spinners traditionally struggle to make an impact. As a result, his average and strike rate took a beating whenever he bowled in these two hosting countries.
Year-wise, Ashwin’s best two years came in succession in 2015 and 2016. Interestingly, 2016 was also Virat Kohli’s best year in terms of average and the quality of opposition he played against.
It was in 2016 when Ashwin produced his career-best bowling performance — 7/59 in an innings and 13/140 in a match (both in the same game). His away record of 7/83 against West Indies in North Sound also came in this year. His highest tally of 5-wicket-hauls and 10-wicket-hauls in a calendar year was also achieved in 2016.
The 2016/17 season was Ashwin’s peak, when he played 13 Tests in succession and picked up 82 wickets. That was the period when England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Australia toured India to play the longer format. It was truly a dream run for the Chennai-based off-spinner.
Interestingly, Ashwin’s progression improved once Virat Kohli became India’s Test captain. Virat’s rapport with his bowlers has always been excellent, and the emergence of Indian bowlers under his leadership stands as proof.
Now retired, Ashwin’s journey is complete, but 2016/17 will always be remembered as his golden stretch.
Ashwin holds the world record for being the fastest bowler to reach both 300 Test wickets (in 54 matches) and 350 Test wickets (in 66 matches), and the second-fastest to the 400-wicket milestone (in 77 matches).
