India’s Ravichandran Ashwin bowls against West Indies on day four of their second cricket Test match at Queen’s Park in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, July 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP
There was no ‘Player of the Series’ award for the two Tests between India and West Indies but former pacer Zaheer Khan reckons that had there been one, then Ravichandran Ashwin would have walked away with the honours.
Ashwin finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series, grabbing 15 wickets at an average of 15.00, which included a couple of fifers.
He was also decent with the bat in the only innings he batted in the series, in the first innings in Trinidad, scoring 56, where he slammed eight fours.
“He [Ashwin] picked up that 10-for, he was the main wrecker-in-chief, got 15 wickets, got a 50 as well. He had a terrific series. Virat [Kohli], Rohit [Sharma] and Yashasvi [Jaiswal] scored runs, but the main guy, who helped India get a result, was right up with his performance. My ‘Man of the Series’ would have been Ashwin,” Zaheer said on JioCinema.
For the second Test, pacer Mohammed Siraj was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match, having held a five-for in the first innings, while Jaiswal seized the prize in the opening Test in Dominica. However, there was no official Man-of-the-Series announced during the post-match presentation ceremony, leaving some fans curious.