Former Pakistani skipper Rashid Latif feels that Rohit Sharma had a “slip of tongue” when he called Ravichandran Ashwin an all-time great following India’s massive win over Sri Lanka in Mohali, where Ashwin went past Kapil Dev‘s tally of 434 Test wickets to become India’s second-highest Test wicket-taker.
Ravichandran Ashwin now sits at 436 Test scalps, behind only Anil Kumble’s record of 619 wickets.
Rohit Sharma, the new Test captain, was effusive in praise of his champions off-spinner, hailing Ashwin as an “all-time great”.
After the match, Rohit had said: “He is an all-time great in my eyes. He is playing for so many years and performed for the country. So many match-winning performances, so for me, he is an all-time great. People might have different point of views but from where I see, he is an all-time great for me.”
However, Rashid Latif plainly disagrees with Rohit Sharma for labelling of Ravichandran Ashwin as an “all-time great”.
For Latif, Ravichandran Ashwin is a “great bowler” and the best spinner in India. However, Latif believes Ashwin still hasn’t performed greatly in overseas Tests.
Rashid Latif trolled Rohit Sharma for labelling Ravichandran Ashwin as an all-time great.
Speaking on the ‘Caught Behind’ YouTube channel, Rashid Latif said: “Ravichandran Ashwin, no doubt, is a great bowler. He has brought variations to his bowling. If you look at Ashwin in home conditions with SG ball, no doubt he is the best spinner in India. However, in away conditions, I would not agree with his (Rohit Sharma) statement. Anil Kumble was very good, he performed really well. Even Jadeja has performed really well. In the past, Bishan Singh Bedi was brilliant,”
“If we talk only in India, no doubt he is good. I think it (Rohit’s statement) might have been a slip of tongue. It is a way of motivating the players,” Rashid Latif added.
This is a very sarcastic statement by Rashid Latif because he doesn’t want to believe that India have produced yet another all-time great cricketer. He is trying to act funny by saying that it was a “slip of tongue” when Ravichandran Ashwin’s records clearly tell us that he is nothing short of an all-time great in red-call cricket.
Latif, like many others, wants to ignore Ashwin’s spectacular record at home and point out few series in overseas conditions where he couldn’t make an impact. It was nothing but a cheap attempt by the former Pakistani cricketer to belittle Ashwin’s contribution to Test cricket.
With the ball in hand, Ashwin averages 31 outside India while 21 at home. He, though, did make notable performances in Australia on the last tour, especially having Steve Smith in a tangle on multiple occasions.
The second Test match, which will be a day-night contest to be played with the pink ball, starts on Saturday at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.
