India will face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series. The series opener is scheduled to take place at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai from Thursday (September 19), and Green Park Stadium in Kanpur will host the second match from September 27 onwards. Indian players are training hard these days at the iconic stadium in Chennai for the upcoming home series, which will be crucial for India’s chances of securing a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final.
Even though India has won 11 out of 13 Tests played against Bangladesh so far and currently sits at No. 1 position in the WTC points as well, it can’t afford to take the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side lightly. The Bangladeshi team stunned Pakistan in a two-match away series earlier this month and can create an upset in India as well.
During the upcoming series against Bangladesh, star Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who currently sits at No. 1 position in the ICC Test bowlers ranking, will have a chance to create history and become the leading wicket-taker in the World Test Championship (WTC).
The 37-year-old off spinner has 174 wickets to his name in 35 matches played so far, and he needs 14 more to break Australian spinner Nathan Lyon’s record of 187 wickets and take No. 1 position.
Most wickets in WTC
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 187
- Pat Cummins (Australia) – 175
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 174
- Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 147
- Stuart Broad (England) – 134
Ashwin can also break Lyon’s record of most five-wicket hauls (10) in WTC if he manages to take one more fifer in the upcoming series.
Most five-wicket hauls in WTC
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 10
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 10
- Pat Cummins (Australia) – 8
- Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 7
- Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 6
- Tim Southee (Australia) – 6
In addition to that, Ashwin can also become the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle if he takes at least 10 wickets. The Indian legend has dismissed 42 batters in eight matches played so far, whereas Australia’s Josh Hazlewood is on top with 51 wickets in 11 matches.
Most wickets in WTC 2023-25
- Josh Hazlewood (Australia) – 51
- Pat Cummins (Australia) – 48
- Mitchell Starc (Australia) – 48
- Chris Woakes (England) – 43
- Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 43
- Ravichandran Ashwin (India) – 42
If Ashwin manages to take at least 15 wickets in the upcoming two matches, he will go past Lyon’s tally of 530 wickets in Tests and become the seventh leading wicket-taker in the five-day format of the game. As of now, he is ninth on the list with 516 dismissals.
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