Many great careers ended at 49 Tests: Prasanna

Ravichandran Ashwin is all set to play his 50th Test on Wednesday in Galle when India take on Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-game series. Currently ranked third in the list of Test bowler’s ranks, Ashwin is the No. 1 off-spinner in the world, behind left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath.

The top-three will be seen in action trying to dictate the course of this series and in the process, the fight for the No.1 spot will only get hotter. At 49 Tests, Ashwin’s statistics stand impressive at – 275 wickets at more than five-and-a-half wickets per Tests, this despite going wicketless in three Tests – all in overseas Tests. While Ashwin is certain to reach this milestone, two of India Test players were stuck on 49 Tests – legendary off-spinner of the 1960s and 70s, Erapalli Prasanna and the gritty wicketkeeper of the 1980s and 90s, Kiran More.

Prasanna’s Test career stopped at 49. He may have played his 50th had he not called it a day after a forgettable tour to Pakistan in 1978 when he returned with two wickets for 251 in two Tests. But the magician with the ball that Prasanna was in his playing …read more