Australian batter Usman Khawaja has lauded Ravichandran Ashwin’s cricketing nous ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 which kick starts on November 22.
Ravichandran Ashwin has enjoyed a remarkable Test career since his debut in 2011. The veteran, with over 100 Test matches under his belt, has amassed an impressive 516 wickets and scored 3,309 runs.
Ashwin has always thrived when bowling to left-handed batters, having taken 256 of his Test wickets against southpaws—the most by any bowler in the format’s history. His record against Usman Khawaja is also impressive, having dismissed him four times in eight encounters.
"Ravi is a very good bowler. He is very strategic. He always has a plan," Khawaja told Star Sports.
"He tries to figure it out and stay ahead of the game, which I respect. I respect his cricketing brain. It's always cool to play against him, and I look forward to the challenge," the Aussie said.
India is set to tour Australia in November for a five-Test series, aiming for a historic third consecutive series victory on Australian soil, following their triumphs in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Khawaja is Australia’s highest run-scorer in the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with 943 runs from 12 matches. The left-handed batter has scored over 5000 Test runs, including 15 centuries, for Australia in his career.
Ashwin, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, is India’s most successful bowler in India-Australia Test matches. With 114 wickets in 22 matches, the off-spinner is placed second only to Nathan Lyon on the all-time wicket-takers list in this historic rivalry.
The 37-year-old Ashwin has been in terrific form in the current WTC cycle too, picking up 42 wickets from eight matches at an impressive average of 21.69 and a strike rate of 37.92.
