One of the top off-spinners of his time, Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq reacted negatively when Ravichandran Ashwin was drafted into the Indian team as a replacement for Harbhajan Singh. Saqlain called Ashwin's entry into the team a "premature selection".
On Wednesday when the off-spinner from Chennai announced his retirement from international cricket as the second most successful off-spinner after Mittiah Muralitharan with 537 wickets in 106 Tests, Saqlain says Ashwin forced him to change his views.
Though they have never played against each other, Saqlian has over the years become a fan of Ashwin's bowling.
"When Ashwin was drafted into the Indian Test team in 2011, I gave an interview and described it as a premature selection because I thought Harbhajan was still good enough then to continue. But I must admit Ashwin changed my views with his rapid rise, intelligence, and craft to trap the best batters that made him one of the greatest spinners in world cricket," Saqlain told Telecom Asia Sport in an exclusive interview.
Saqlain is himself listed among the greatest off-spinners the game has seen, credited for inventing the "doosra" – the delivery that turns the other direction to an off-break, and has seen Ashwin from close quarters as spin bowling consultant of England when they visited India in 2016-17.
As a consultant with the West Indies, New Zealand, and Bangladesh teams over the years, he has also kept a close eye on Ashwin's bowling for the various teams he has coached.
This has made Saqlain analyze Ashwin closely and understand the Indian spinner's craft better, thus earning the Pakistan great's respect.
"He had made a name for himself but it dawned on me when I spoke to him on a domestic flight. We were sitting together and when he spoke about spin bowling in general and cricket in particular, I realised that he is an intelligent cricketer who knows the art of spin bowling," Saqlian said.
"From thereon I always loved talking to him. I have always loved bowling him and every time when I got a chance to watch the highlights he never fails to fascinate me. He is a really refined, grounded boy, brainy bowler and who would be able to outsmart even the best of batters with guile.
"When I said that his selection was done in haste I had dreaded that this boy might fall under heft of expectations because it was not easy to replace a great like Harbhajan. But he improved by leaps and bounds and the main reason was that he was always a good student of the game.". He kept learning and that made him a great bowler," said the 47-year-old Saqlain who claimed 208 wickets for Pakistan in 49 Tests.
Saqlain said Indian cricket in general and world cricket in particular will miss Ashwin. "For sure he will be missed. He and Nathan Lyon have kept the off-spin bowling alive and wherever cricket is played and watched Ashwin will be missed."
"I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors, whatever he will do he will do it like the way he played cricket; extraordinarily."
ASHWIN IS THE GREATEST BOWLER OF THE DECADE
Another Pakistan spinner, Saeed Ajmal described Ashwin as a "world-class spinner and super human being" and said he is the greatest bowler of the last decade.
Someone with 537 wickets in 106 Tests must be a great bowler but it is not only the record but the guile that made Ashwin a legendary bowler. We had a mutual respect for being the same style bowler. He used to admire me whenever I had success and when he had a good match I admired him.". The best thing about Ashwin was that he used to always meet in a joyous mood. That made him a great human being. No matter how tense the India-Pakistan games were, we always had a laugh and shared some precious moments on and off the field.
"To me, Ashwin is the greatest bowler in the last decade," said Ajmal.
Ashwin shocked the world by announcing he will be retiring from international cricket after the third Test between India and Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series that is on going in Brisbane on Wednesday.
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