As Ravichandran Ashwin, one of cricket’s most celebrated spinners, left fans and experts shocked by his sudden exit from international cricket, the former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif showered huge praise on the India star for his tactical acumen and sharp cricketing brain, saying the 38-year-old has the ability to “take over the BCCI and ICC in future”. Ashwin called time on his prolific career at the end of the Gabba Test, which ended in a draw on Wednesday, leaving a rich legacy as one of India’s finest match-winners. His last international game was the day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide, where he took 1-53 in his 18 overs and made 29 runs with the bat in the losing cause.

“Ashwin, as a cricketer, maybe he hasn’t received the respect he deserves in the dressing room; I don’t know about it. He’s wondering if he’ll be in the playing XI or not. He’s the world’s No. 3 bowler, and taking 537 wickets for India is a huge achievement,” Rashid told IANS.

“Perhaps he feels that his career might be nearing its end, especially when players like Washington Sundar are getting preference, so he might be deciding whether he’ll play in the Sydney Test or not, whether he’ll play in Melbourne or not. At some point, a person reaches a boiling point. I’ve been there myself many times,” he added.

Ashwin ended his 14-year international career with 537 wickets at an average of 24 in 106 Tests and became India’s second-leading wicket-taker after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble (619). He also scored six Test centuries and 14 fifties. He also played 116 ODIs for India, taking 156 wickets, and 65 T20I matches, taking 72 wickets. He was a member of the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy-winning teams.

“But as a cricketer, as a genius of the game, there are many cricketers in India, but Ashwin is on a different level. His qualities are of a different level. I believe that in the future, he could take over BCCI or ICC as he’s that capable. He is very humble, and you wouldn’t even realise that he’s such a big cricketer. Best wishes to him from my side, from Pakistan.

“He’s had an outstanding career. Look at him; as a batter, Ashwin has six centuries, which Dhoni probably doesn’t even have,” the 56-year-old opined.

Ashwin played a key role in India’s 12-year home dominance and the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in Australia. He is one of 11 all-rounders with 3000 Test runs and 300 wickets and shares the record for 11 Player-of-the-Series awards with Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan.

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has rued the downfall of the side’s fast-bowling stocks, saying the pacers who started at 145kmph have now come down to 130 kmph. The comments from Latif come a day after Pakistan lost the first Test to Bangladesh by ten wickets, the first time they have lost a longer format game at home by this margin. The hosts didn’t field a frontline spinner and went with an all pace-bowling attack. But they failed to contain Bangladesh on a docile pitch as the visitors’ made 565, as compared to Pakistan declaring at 448/6.

On day five, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan took seven wickets between themselves in the second innings to dismiss Pakistan for just 146, and Bangladesh chased down 30 in 6.3 overs to get their first-ever Test win over Pakistan.

“There were days when defeats against a team like Bangladesh would rankle, and shock us. We were a formidable team and it was not easy to beat us. In 2003, they came close to beating us thrice in three Tests. We ended up winning the series 3-0. The aura of invincibility at home is gone. We have lost five in the last nine games at home.

“The world knows that pace used to be our strength but our top fast bowlers no longer bowl at breakneck pace. It was the root cause of the defeat yesterday (at Rawalpindi on Sunday). Their speeds have come down drastically. If they are carrying injuries, they should reveal that. Shaheen (Afridi), Naseem (Shah), and Khurram (Shahzad) started off with pace of 145. They all have come down to 130,” said Latif to Cricbuzz.

He also feels the Pakistan support staff is not doing a good job of keeping the pacers in prime shape to hit high speeds in Test cricket. “Our trainers and physios are to blame. If you look at a Jofra Archer, he comes back after two years of hiatus but does not lose a yard in his pace. Same with Jasprit Bumrah — he comes back from an operation and bowls with the same velocity. Pat Cummins… he was out of cricket for a long time due to injury.”

“When he came back, he did not show any signs of slowing down. Why are our bowlers slowing down? Obviously, our support staff is not doing a proper job. A bowler of 144 kmph speed has come down to 128 kmph,” he said.

Latif, who briefly coached Afghanistan, further pointed out how Bangladesh benefitted from playing spinners at Rawalpindi and slammed Pakistan for declaring too early in their first innings.

“The five-day matches are different from the ODIs and the T20Is. Every session is different in a Test. Bangladesh adapted well. We no longer have quality spinners like we used to, so turning tracks are no longer an option. Instead, we relied on pace, but the tactics backfired.

“Our bowlers bowled too short, while Bangladesh focused on fuller deliveries, and that made all the difference. They also have quality spinners in Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan. Personally, I would have also included Taijul Islam,” said Latif.

“They made the right decision by opting to bowl first, given the conditions, and their early success proved it was the correct call. There was no need to declare (at 448 for six) – they should have aimed for 550. Falling 100 runs short ultimately made the difference.”

“(Mohammad) Rizwan was unbeaten on 171, and Shaheen was also batting well on 30 (29). Those 100 extra runs cost us the game. Bangladesh, on the other hand, read the conditions well and outplayed Pakistan. They wore down the Pakistani bowlers and then capitalized,” he concluded.

Virat Kohli during T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final vs England.© AFP

File photo of Pakistan cricket team.© X (formerly Twitter)