Most, fastest, oldest: Ten records held by India's GOAT R Ashwin as he hangs up his boots
R Ashwin shocked his teammates and fans alike by bringing the curtains down on his Test career in the middle of the series against Australia.
His final tally of 537 wickets in Tests is second only to Anil Kumble's 619 among Indians.
During his extraordinary career, the 38-year-old shattered records left and right.
Here's a list of 10 records held by Ashwin, most of which will not be broken anytime soon.
Most Player of the Series awards in Tests
Ashwin has bagged an incredible 11 Player of the Series awards in Tests -- a record that he holds jointly with Muthiah Muralitharan. Ashwin, however, equalled the record despite playing 27 fewer Tests than the Sri Lankan legend. Of the 11, nine came in India, one in Sri Lanka and one in the West Indies. No other Indian has won more than five Player of the Series awards.
Most Test wickets in India
Ashwin has taken the most Test wickets on Indian soil, with 383 -- ahead of Anil Kumble's 350. Since his Test debut in 2011, he has not missed a single home Test, playing 65 in a row, of which India won 47. 29 of his 37 five-fors came on home soil.
Most left-handers dismissed in Tests
Ashwin has dismissed 268 left-handers in Tests -- which incidentally is almost the same as the number of right-handers he's dismissed (269). That figure of 268 is well ahead of the 221 left-handers dismissed by England's James Anderson who is in second place. No bowler apart from these two has sent back 200 left-handers.
Most wickets in World Test Championship
Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker in the World Test Championship, which began in 2019, with 195 scalps. He is also the first bowler to take at least 50 wickets in each of the three ICC World Test Championship editions played so far.
Five hundreds and 500 wickets in Tests
Ashwin is the only player to have completed the double of at least five centuries and 500 wickets in Tests. Of the other eight bowlers who have taken 500 Test wickets, only two have hit a Test century -- Anil Kumble and Stuart Broad. And both have just one Test ton to their name, whereas Ashwin has six.
Most Test five-fors by an Indian
Ashwin has bagged five wickets in an innings 37 times in Tests, the highest by any Indian, ahead of Anil Kumble's 35. Among bowlers of all countries, this is the joint second-highest along with Shane Warne, with only Muttiah Muralitharan being ahead.
Most Test wickets in victories by an Indian
Ashwin took 374 Test wickets in victories. No other Indian bowler has touched 300. 31 of his 37 five-wicket hauls in Tests came in victories.
Fastest Indian to reach every 50-wicket milestone till 500 in Tests
Ashwin has reached every 50-wicket milestone from 50 to 500 faster than any other Indian in terms of the number of Tests played. He was also the quickest in the world to reach 250 and 300 Test wickets and the joint-quickest in the world to reach 350 Test wickets.
Most centuries and five-fors in the same Test by an Indian
Four Indians have hit a century and bagged a five-wicket haul in the same Test -- Vinoo Mankad, Polly Umrigar, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Mankad and Umrigar did it once, while Jadeja did it twice. But Ashwin has done so four times. Only Ian Botham has achieved the feat on more occasions (5).
Oldest Indian to take a five-for in Tests
Three months ago, when Ashwin bagged 6/88 against Bangladesh in Chennai, he became the oldest Indian to take a five-wicket haul in Tests at the age of 38.