The older the wine gets, the more value it attracts. This adage seems to hold a great stead in the case of Ravichandran Ashwin who is staking his claim at the international arena with awe-inspiring performances with both the bat and the ball.

Having crushed his critics with mouth watering performances on foreign soil in addition to record breaking performances at home, Ashwin has won a place for himself among the legends of the game in his short yet eventful career spanning a little over 5 years.

Also Read: Nurtured by Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin is Virat Kohli’s go to man in Test cricket

He started the year on a high and finished it on a high with a record number of man-of-the-series awards in a career spanning 30 odd tests. Competing for records which were created over a period of 20 years speaks volumes of what the Tamil Nadu spin wizard has achieved so far and what is in store for him in the times to come.

The credit goes to MS Dhoni and the CSK outfit for scouting such talent and moulding them into fearless match winning individuals. First it was Murali Vijay's scintillating knocks with the bat which earned him a call up to the national side and eventually he went on to cement his place in the test side with tons of match winning knocks under his belt.

However, Ashwin has gone a notch further by featuring as a regular member in all three formats of the game, thus forming an integral part of the setup. He has deeply repaid the faith vested on him by the coach, captain and the selectors likewise.

With Ajinkya Rahane being sidelined due to an injury, the selectors have also entrusted the responsibility of the vice captain post in the Test Team on Ashwin which goes on to show the amount of value he brings to the team and he is very much here to stay.

Sachin showed us that a person can be in a rich vein of form for as long as he wants, with the little man rarely witnessing blemishes. Ashwin seems to come from the same breed of cricketers, never give up and play consistent cricket for as long as his heart desires. Indeed, a true gift of the almighty.

To round of what has already been an amazing year with the bat and the ball for him, he was adjudged the ICC Cricketer of the Year and also the ICC Test Player of the year which was the icing on the cake for him. This was surely a year to remember for the Indian Test Vice Captain.