How an admin error denied R Ashwin a world record

R Ashwin stepped up and took the Player of the Series accolade on Tuesday in Kanpur. He took 11 wickets in the two match Test series and scored a game-changing century in the first innings of the opening Test. In the process he was adjudged the Player of the Series for the 11th time in his career, going level with Sri Lanka spin-bowling great Muttiah Muralitharan.

Instead of going level with the Muralitharan, Ashwin could well have gone past had it not been for an administrative error during the West Indies series last year.

During the two-match Test series in Caribbean that India won 1-0, Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets and also scored a laboured 56 runs. Fittingly, he was in contention to claim the Player of the Series award.

However, during the presentation ceremony that took place at the conclusion of the second Test at Port of Spain, the award wasn’t handed out.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) reportedly confirmed that an Indian agency that handled the sponsorship. But when contacted, the agency said they only looked after the commercial aspects of the series and the milestone came under the cricket operations of CWI.

Player of the Series awards are usually handed out during showdowns that involve two or more matches. But it is unclear why it was overlooked in that particular series. As per The Indian Express, the award wasn't handed out to the Indian team later either.

Ashwin can very well go past Muralitharan in the future but he would count this as a missed opportunity. The India spinner has taken just 39 series to bag the 11 Player of the Series awards. Muralitharan’s 11, meanwhile, came in a total of 61 series in an 18-year career.