The 5th and final Test between India and England may not hold much relevance as per the context of the series, but the dead rubber will still go down in history. The Dharamshala Test will mark the rare occasion when not one but two players will achieve the monumental mark of playing 100 Tests. From India, it is Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be getting the eminent 100th Test cap, and from England, Jonny Bairstow will attain the glory.

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Ravichandran Ashwin states numbers don't matter to him

While reaching the figure of 100 Tests is seen as an incredible accomplishment in a player's career, Ashwin states contrary to what the world thinks about him and in general, numbers don't matter much to him. Ahead of the start of the 5th Test, Ashwin cleared major misconceptions that he thinks are prevailing among people. He made it known that him playing 100 Tests means more to his family than to him. For him it is just a number.

"Just because I have great memory, people actually think that I value numbers, but I actually don't. It does not mean anything to me. The 100th Test match probably means 10 x 100 to my dad, it means a lot to my wife and my mom. My daughters are more excited than I am."

Ashwin elaborated his stance by naming two of the stalwarts of Indian cricket- Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni- opening that they could gone on to play 100 Tests as well, but it wasn't big a deal for them

"It's just a number. Zaheer Khan could not play 100 Tests, MS Dhoni could have rode on his (success) and played 100 Tests, but he did not." Khan played a total of 92 Tests in his career, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni left the format after featuring in 90 Tests.

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Ravichandran Ashwin will be the 14th India to reach the mark of 100 Tests

On March 7, 2024, Ravichandran Ashwin will join the elite list of Indians, who have represented the country in 100 or more Tests. The wizard off-spinner will be the 14th Indian to get to the mark. Before him, players, like  Sunil Gavaskar (125), Dilip Vengsarkar (116), Kapil Dev (131), Sachin Tendulkar (200), Anil Kumble (132), Rahul Dravid (164), Sourav Ganguly (113), VVS Laxman (134), Harbhajan Singh (103), Virender Sehwag (104), Ishant Sharma (105), Virat Kohli (113), Cheteshwar Pujara (103), have relished the glory of playing 100 Tests for India.