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

New Delhi, June 6: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has triggered a debate after his remarks that India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin isn't an all-time great on his list.

Manjrekar has opined that since R Ashwin's figures in SENA i.e. South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia, countries aren't good and the players are brought 'out of their comfort zone' on such venues. The former batsman believes, the India off-spinner's credentials in SENA countries are yet to be proved.

In a video for ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar 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.

‘All- time great’ is the highest praise & acknowledgement given to a cricketer. Cricketers like Don Bradman, Sobers, Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Virat etc are all time greats in my book. With due respect, Ashwin not quite there as an all-time great yet. 🙏#AllTimeGreatExplained😉

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) June 6, 2021

"The other thing - you talk about him running through sides on Indian pitches when pitches are suited to his kind of bowling. But in the last four years, (Ravindra) Jadeja has matched him with wicket-taking ability throughout a series.

"So, Ashwin is not a guy who soars above the others. And interestingly, in the last series against England, Axar Patel got more wickets than Ashwin on similar pitches. That is my problem with accepting Ashwin as an all-time great," the 55-year-old commentator - who's known for making surprising statements.

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.