Abhinav Mukund differs with Sanjay Manjrekar's opinion on R Ashwin, calls India spinner a 'legend'

New Delhi, June 6: India cricketer Abhinav Mukund has taken strong exception to former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar's observation regarding Ravichandran Ashwin. Manjrekar's comment that R Ashwin isn't an all-time great didn't go down well with the Tamil Nadu batsman who termed the off-spinner as a 'legend'.

Manjrekar, in an ESPNCricinfo show, said, "Ravichandran Ashwin, with due respect to him, I think he's a great guy at what he does, but when people start talking about him as one of the all-time greats, I have a few problems with that."

"One basic problem that I have with Ashwin is that when you look at SENA, the countries for batsmen and bowlers, places where Indians find themselves outside their comfort zone - it's amazing that he doesn't have a single five-wicket haul. Not one five-wicket haul in all these countries," Manjrekar added further.

R Ashwin isn't an all-time great as he is yet to prove his credentials in SENA countries: Sanjay Manjrekar

Differing with Manjrekar's opinion, Mukund told stand-up comedian Sorabh Pant on his YouTube channel 'Wake Up With Sorabh', "He just loves the game. Ashwin is actually a guy who will research everything there is to cricket. He just needs to be one of those very well prepared individuals who go on to a cricket field and that kind of shows in the way he has performed, especially in Test match cricket. He's been fantastic."

"I read an article today where Sanjay Manjrekar said that 'I disagree that he is a legend of the game'. I have to respectfully disagree with Mr Manjrekar and say he is a legend of the game because he holds several world records."

"The accusation towards him is that he's never performed in SENA countries. But I think he had a fantastic tour of Australia. If you look at it that way, and if you just look at the number of five-wicket-hauls he's taken and what an impact he's been to as a leader, he's probably one of the legends of the game in my opinion at least," the left-handed batsman added.

With 409 wickets from 78 Tests, the Tamil Nadu cricketer is the fourth-highest wicket-taker for India. The senior tweaker is only behind Harbhajan Singh, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble in this list.