India spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed his Sympathy for Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood as the side lost the home test series against Bangladesh.
Bangladesh secured a victory against Pakistan in the first Test in Rawalpindi by 10 wickets and went on to beat them in the second and final test at the same venue by six wickets to secure a historic series win.
On the other hand, Pakistan went winless for the 10th consecutive test at home where they have lost six and drawn four. Their last test win at home was more than three and half years ago against South Africa in February 2021.
As a result, Pakistan went to no. 8 in the WTC points table and their rating has dropped down which is the lowest one since 1965.
“What a victory for Bangladesh but what a disappointment for Pakistan. It’s quite disappointing because Pakistan is not an easy team to beat. But for more than 1000 days at home, Pakistan hasn’t won at home. Pakistani cricket fans are passionate,” said Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube Channel.
India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests pointed to the legacy of Pakistan Cricket to express his shock at the current performance.
“You know who I feel for the most? It’s Pakistan cricket’s history. Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Imran Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmed,, Salim Malik, Saeed Anwar, Amer Sohail… I can just keep on going. What legacy that country and their cricket team have.”
Ravichandran Ashwin called them a much-improved Test side because of the mixed Youth and experience in their line-up, saying that it was difficult to beat Pakistan 10 years ago.
“Of course, Bangladesh has come a long way. I don’t take anything away from them. Last year, when we toured Bangladesh, we knew what a good Test side Bangladesh is. They have got a lot of experience in Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mehidy Hasan and they have also got some good young talent.
“Keeping all this aside, to see where Pakistan cricket where it is now… It was difficult to beat them even 10 years ago when Misbah and Younis Khan were there and they played their home matches in the UAE.”
“You had the likes of Yasir Shah, you had two left-arm spinners Adbur Rahman and Zulfiqar Babar coming in. Where they (Pakistan team) are right now, I can’t believe it,” Ashwin added.
He also said he felt bad for Pakistan test captain Shan Masood who won all five tests after taking over captaincy duties from Babar Azam. He also pointed out issues in the Pakistan dressing room.
“I feel terribly bad for someone like Shan Masood. Shan Masood is a very smart cricketer. I know that guy. He speaks a lot of sense. He can be a really good captain for Pakistan. But handling a Pakistan team at this point, where somebody like Babar Azam is not the captain and he’s the poster boy of Pakistan, it cannot be an easy dressing room,” he added.
Pakistan is set to play a three-match test series against England next month with the first test against to be starting on October 7 at Multan Cricket Stadium.
