Once a critic, Pakistan's Saqlain says world cricket will miss Ashwin

One of the premier offspinner of his time Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan reacted negatively when Ravichandran Ashwin was drafted into the Indian team as a replacement for Harbhajan Singh Saqlain called Ashwins entry into the team a ldquopremature selectionrdquo On Wednesday when the offspinner from Chennai announced his retirement from international cricket as the second most successful offspinner after Muttiah Muralitharan with 537 wickets in 106 Tests Saqlain says Ashwin forced him to change his viewsThough they have never played against each other Saqlian has over the years become a fan of Ashwins bowlingWhen 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 cricketrdquo Saqlain told Telecom Asia Sport in an exclusive interviewSaqlain is himself listed among the greatest offspinners the game has seen credited for inventing the ldquodoosrardquo ndash the delivery that turns the other direction to an offbreak and has seen Ashwin from close quarters as spin bowling consultant of England when they visited India in 201617 As a consultant with the West Indies New Zealand and Bangladesh teams over the years he has also kept a close eye on Ashwins bowling for the various teams he has coachedThis has made Saqlain analyze Ashwin closely and understand the Indian spinners craft better thus earning the Pakistan greats respectldquoHe 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 realized that he is an intelligent cricketer who knows the art of spin bowling Saqlian saidldquoFrom there on I always enjoyed speaking to him I have always enjoyed his bowling and whenever I got to see the highlight he always enamored me He is a very sophisticated downtoearth boy and brainy bowler who would trap the best of batters with uncanny guileldquoWhen 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 bowlerrdquo said the 47yearold Saqlain who claimed 208 wickets for Pakistan in 49 TestsSaqlain said Indian cricket in general and world cricket in particular will miss Ashwin ldquoFor sure he will be missed He and Nathan Lyon have kept the offspin bowling alive and wherever cricket is played and watched Ashwin will be missedrdquoldquoI wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours whatever he will do he will do it like the way he played cricket extraordinarilyrdquoAshwin is the greatest bowler of the decadeAnother Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal described Ashwin as a ldquoworldclass spinner and super human beingrdquo and said he is the greatest bowler of the last decadeldquoSomeone 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 IndiaPakistan games were we always had a laugh and shared some precious moments on and off the fieldrdquoldquoTo me Ashwin is the greatest bowler in the last decaderdquo said AjmalAshwin stunned the world by retiring from international career at the end of the third Test of the BorderGavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia in Brisbane on WednesdayWith agency inputs