'It Might Have Been A Slip Of Tongue': Rashid Latif On Rohit Sharma Calling Ravichandran Ashwin All-Time Great

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif expressed his dissent on Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s statement on terming ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as the ‘all-time great’.

In the first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali, Ashwin surpassed former Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 Test wickets to become India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the red-ball format behind Anil Kumble (619).

Ravichandran Ashwin is an all-time great in my eyes: Rohit Sharma

Ashwin has picked 306 of his 436 Test wickets on Indian soil but has accumulated just 70 wickets in SENA countries in 24 games. After the first Test, Rohit dubbed Ashwin as the all-time great player regardless of what other people think.

“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 a different point of view but from where I see, he is an all-time great for me,” Rohit said after India’s victory in the first Test on Sunday.  

No Doubt Ravichandran Ashwin is good in India: Rashid Latif

Having a difference of opinion from the Indian skipper, Latif said that Ashwin has been phenomenal in Indian conditions but players like Kumble, Bishan Singh Bedi and Ravindra Jadeja have performed reasonably in all types of conditions.

“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’s) statement. Kumble was very good, he performed really well. Even Jadeja has performed really well. In the past, Bishan Singh Bedi was brilliant,” Latif said on his YouTube channel.

“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,” Latif further said.

Ashwin is currently placed ninth on the list of the leading wicket-takers list in Test cricket, he is just four wickets shy of surpassing former South Africa speedster Dale Steyn, who picked 439 Test wickets from 93 matches.

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