Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth have called Ravichandran Ashwin an "absolutely terrific cricketer" and attributed his success to tremendous self-belief, while Anil Kumble thinks that his consistency over the last decade stems from his ability to rise above constant challenges.

India head coach Rahul Dravid goes even further, saying Ashwin has changed the understanding of spin bowling in India.

Ashwin recently made the 500-wicket club in Tests and, with a total of 516 scalps currently, is the second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format for India behind Kumble (619).

Speaking at a felicitation organised by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to felicitate the off-spinner for completing 100 Tests and 500 wickets, Gavaskar said: "I congratulate Ashwin... We don't know when he hangs up his boots, but he has been an absolutely terrific cricketer," said Gavaskar.

Dravid said: "I have been thinking about the legacy that someone like Ashwin will leave behind after he is finished... I believe he has many more overs still in him. Just thinking about spin-bowling, he has moved our understanding and knowledge of spin-bowling forward, which is a great legacy. He has left the art and science of spin bowling in a much better place."

Kumble, on the other hand, observed: "Ashwin has had as many challenges thrown at him. He hasn't allowed a single one of them to check his progress. He's been an exceptional match-winner for the country for more than a decade, and the consistency that he has shown is a great hallmark. That calls for utter and complete dedication to the cause.

"In India, once you have raised the bar to a certain level, it isn't easy to keep performing. The expectations in every game are unrealistically high... Ashwin has managed that really well," Kumble added.

Praising Ashwin's work ethic, Kumble, a former India captain, said: "His numbers have been outstanding. There is no fun in stacking up the wickets if it doesn't help the team win. He has an overwhelming correlation with his and India's success. He's seldom been satisfied with being very good or even excellent. Each day, he wants to be better than the previous one."

Giving an idea of how Ashwin prepares for a game, Kumble said: "While we worked together for a year when I was the India coach, his thorough preparation and in-depth understanding of the players he was up against was a revelation. You could see how he set them up, what speeds he bowled at them and from what angles he delivered the ball."

With inputs from PTI