Virat Kohli and I should not be compared to past greats, says R Ashwin

Milestone man R Ashwin on Monday, November 27, said it is unfair to compare himself and Virat Kohli with the greats of the past. The off-spinner felt he and his Kohli are "more blessed" when it comes to availability of technology.

The Tamil Nadu off-spinner, who became the fastest bowler to get 300 Test wickets with a match-winning spell on Day 4 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, also added that cricketers of the current generation are more informed about fitness regime, which is proving to be a huge advantage to them.

Kohli and Ashwin have been winning matches single-handedly over the last few years. While the Indian captain is breaking batting records across all formats of the game at an unprecedented pace, Ashwin's exploits with the ball in the longest format of the game are next to none in the modern generation.

To put that into perspective, Kohli broke a slew of records, including Sunil Gavaskar's record of most number of Test centuries as India captain (12). At 29, he has also matched Rahul Dravid on the list of most number of double centuries in Tests (5).

Also read: Virat Kohli breaks Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith's record

On the other hand, Ashwin reached 250 and 300 wicket-mark in Tests faster than anyone else, thereby also outpacing Australian legend Dennis Lillee.

"We are a lot more blessed than what the other greats were with all the technology at our disposal. We are also very well informed about what fitness and what regime to go through which they didn't have. So it is unfair to compare, but I am extremely happy where I have got in my career so far," Ashwin said after India crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 239 runs in Nagpur.

'More patient after county stint'

The 31-year-old also spoke about how his time-off limited-over cricket has given him time to develop his skills to suit the longer format. He added that his County stint has helped him evolve into a more patient bowler.

Notably, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been overlooked for Team India's limited-overs commitments in the recent past. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner used the time away from the national team to horn his skills at County Division Two with Worcestershire. He starred with 29 wickets, including two five-fors, and 214 runs in four matches to help his side earn a promotion to Division One.

"It (break from white-ball cricket) has brought different perspectives to life in general. It has been a longer break than I have been used to in the last 8-9 years. But what's been important is the amount of cricket I have played in different conditions," Ashwin added.

"I really enjoyed my time at Worcester. The boys were great, the dressing room was great and I did learn a lot of things. I have worked on different loadings, different actions and all that. It has come together well. I have also played the holding role when I played there.

"The stint also helped me be a lot more patient. It is coming out really well. It is a young career; only 50 matches or something like that. Hopefully, I can play more and double that up."