Ravichandran Ashwin became India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket after surpassing Kapil Dev’s 434 wickets in the second test against Sri Lanka. In Test cricket, he now has 442 wickets and is among the top-10 all-time wicket-takers. To surpass Kapil Dev, Ravi Shankar Ashwin dismissed Charith Asalanka. Ashwin also passed the wicket-taking record of South Africa legend Dale Steyn (439) during the second Test. Ashwin revealed the message he received from the former Indian skipper in a video he posted on his Youtube channel.

“Well done!” Congratulations on breaking my record. Your performance has made India proud! I wish you and your family every success in the future. I wish you the best, Kapil Dev.” he wrote to Ashwin. Prior to this, Ashwin had also spoken of his excitement about becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
”I am deeply humbled. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could surpass his wicket total. Since I was eight years old, I have always wanted to be a batsman. My fascination with batting began in 1994. Sachin Tendulkar was just coming into the spotlight, and Kapil Dev was one of the best strikers in cricket. I rooted for Kapil Paaji with my dad when he broke Richard Hadlee’s record 28 years ago,” Ashwin expressed on his official YouTube channel.  

”Back then, my dad had advised me to bowl medium pace so that I could try to become the next Kapil Paaji. From then on, he went on to become an off-spinner and represented India for many years,” concluded Ashwin.