Stats: Most wickets by Indian bowlers under a captain in Test cricket

It is needless to say that Ravichandran Ashwin is the trump card of Virat Kohli in Test cricket who has been crucial to their success ever since India’s No.1 batsman took over as a full-time Test captain in 2015 since which India lost in Tests only twice. The off-spinner has stood at No.1 in ICC Test bowling rankings quite a few times in these two years and now lost it to his fellow team-mate, Ravindra Jadeja.

Till date, Ashwin has featured in 28 Tests under Kohli in which he bagged 174 wickets at an impressive average of 22.36. Kohli has led India in 29 Tests in which Ashwin has played 28 except Kohli’s maiden Test as captain. No other Indian player has featured in as many games as Ashwin under Kohli. Ashwin’s 174 wickets are the 3rd most wickets taken by an Indian bowler under a captain.

Anil Kumble holds the record as he picked up 179 Test wickets while playing under Mohammad Azharuddin while Harbhajan Singh picked up 177 during Sourav Ganguly’s tenure. Ashwin won’t take a long time to go past Kumble as the 32-year-old is only 6 wickets away from breaking the record, which he could achieve in his next series itself.

Kumble has a distinction of taking 100+ wickets under three different captains as he picked up 100+ wickets under Ganguly and Dravid as well. He picked up 97 wickets while playing under Sachin Tendulkar too. Ashwin has taken 17 five-wicket hauls and 10+ wickets in a Test on five occasions under Kohli, which are already the most for any bowler under an Indian skipper.

Most wickets taken by Indians under a captain in Test cricket:

(Stats as on August 14, 2017)