Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin felt sorry for the Pakistan team and their fans after they slumped to a 0-2 series whitewash at home to Bangladesh. The Tigers beat Pakistan by 10 wickets in the first Test to mark their frst-ever victory over the Men in Green in the longest format of the game. Then, in the second match, Bangladesh again came out on top, this time by 6 wickets to win their first-ever Test series over Pakistan.
This turned out to be the 10th consecutive winless Test match at home for Pakistan. They have lost 6 of those and drawn 4. Their last Test win at home was more than 3 and a half years ago against South Africa in February 2021.
Ashwin said that it was disappointing to see the state of Pakistan cricket.
“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 more than 1000 days at home Pakistan haven’t won at home. Pakistani cricket fans are passionate,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“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 has,” Ashwin added.
Ashwin took nothing away from Bangladesh, whom he called a much-improved Test side because of a mixture of youth and experience in their line-up.
“Of course, Bangladesh have 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, Mehidy Hasan and they have also got some good young talent,” Ashwin said.
The 37-year-old also said that he felt “terribly bad” for Pakistan skipper Shan Masood who lost all 5 Tests since taking over the captaincy duties from Babar Azam.
“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,” Ashwin said.
