The 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is currently underway and has reached the halfway stage of the league games. The IPL attracts numerous top-notch players who deliver enthralling performances, keeping their fans on the edge of their seats. Even in the past, the cash-rich league has seen some global cricket icons such as Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Rahul Dravid give a dose of entertainment to their fans.

Often this discussion goes around among the cricket fraternity about how the IPL would have impacted the performance of yesteryear stars and players from the past era, such as those from the 70s and 80s. Speaking about the same, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar recently shared his opinion on three cricketers from his era who he thinks would have thrived in the IPL.

When asked to pick players from his time, Gavaskar went with Kapil Dev, the captain who won the World Cup, as the all-rounder, Sandeep Patil as the batter and BS Chandrashekhar as the bowler.

Gavaskar reckoned Chandrashekhar’s bowling action was more suitable for white-ball cricket, and Patil’s aggressive batting style would have made him an extremely valuable asset in the IPL.

“Look, a batsman I would like to see would be Sandeep Patil, there is only one all-rounder who I would choose â€?Kapil Dev, for the bowler, I would like to see BS Chandrashekhar play in the T20 format because his bowling action was not suited only for test cricket, but one day cricket and T20 cricket would also be easy for him,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Kapil played 225 One Day Internationals (ODIs), in which he scored 3783 runs and took 253 wickets. Similarly, Patil appeared in 45 ODIs for India, scoring 1024 runs with an average of 29.24. Chandrashekhar, on the other hand, played 13 ODIs and bagged 16 wickets.

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Fans are eagerly waiting for the upcoming red-ball battle between England and India. Both teams will face each other in the five-match Test series, starting on Wednesday (August 4) at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Moreover, the second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 is also beginning with the England-India series. Notably, in the inaugural WTC, India met New Zealand in the final in Southampton and faced a defeat by eight wickets.

England and India have one of the finest bowling attacks in the world at present, and one may expect some top-quality bowling display in the forthcoming fixtures. From James Anderson to Ravichandran Ashwin, both the nations consist of superstar bowlers, who have the capability to turn the game on their heads. On that note, today, let’s have a look at the top five wicket-takers in England-India Tests:

5.) Bishan Singh Bedi – 85 wickets

Former India spinner Bishan Singh Bedi enjoyed a tremendous battle against some of the most high-quality batters during his time. The left-armer used to bamboozle his opponents with classical spin bowling. The variations in flight, loop, and pace without any change in action was his biggest USP.

Bedi played 67 Tests and picked up 266 wickets with 14 four-wicket hauls and one 10-fer. The Amritsar-lad was quite successful against England in his glorious career. He appeared in as many as 22 red-ball fixtures against the English cricket team, taking 85 wickets with 12/167 being his best performance.

4.) Ravichandran Ashwin – 88 wickets

Ravichandran Ashwin is considered as one of the most highly skilled bowlers in modern-day cricket. His art of trapping batters with incredible variations like carrom ball make him stand in an elite list of spinners.

The Tamil Nadu cricketer has a terrific record against England as well. He has taken 88 wickets in 19 matches with 12/167 as his best figures. Ashwin has overall bagged 413 scalps in 79 games, and he is just five wickets away to surpass legendary Harbhajan Singh (417) in the longest format.

3.) Anil Kumble – 92 wickets

Another spinner in this list is none other than India’s all-time great Anil Kumble. The lanky leg-spinner completely dominated world cricket with his unique spin bowling mixed with pace and bounce. Kumble has 619 wickets to his name in 132 matches, and  is the third-highest wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket.

Even against England, the Karanataka legend has a stunning record. He appeared in 19 matches against England, in which he has taken 92 wickets, with 10/233 being his best performance.

2.) Bhagwath Chandrasekhar – 95 wickets

One of India’s biggest match-winner, especially in overseas conditions, Bhagwath Subramanya Chandrasekhar was an absolute maestro with the ball. Chandrasekhar played cricket in the 1960-70s when fast bowlers used to dominate.

During such times, the pitches were completely against spinners, and Chandrasekhar proved his mettle in the toughest phase. The leggie picked up 242 wickets in 58 Test matches with 16 five-wicket hauls and two 10-fers.

Against England, Chandrasekhar bagged as many as 95 wickets in 23 matches at an average of 27.27, with 9/107 being his best figures.

1.) James Anderson – 118 wickets

The only Englishman on this list is swing bowler James Anderson. The ‘Burnley Express’ needs no introduction as to what kind of a bowler he has been in the oldest format of the game. Anderson is currently the highest wicket-taker among seamers.

Anderson has 617 wickets to his credit in 162 matches. He is only three wickets away to leapfrog India legend Kumble to become the third-highest wicket-taker in the red-ball format. The right-handed bowler has played 30 Tests against India, in which he has taken 118 scalps, with 9/43 being his best performance.

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