Ganesh Kendale
India’s victory in the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh, despite two days getting washed out by rain, has not just once again highlighted the team’s skills and invincible nature, but also the fact that Rohit Sharma and his boys know how to stay at the top having reached there. Like many others, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja is also in awe of the Indian team for this characteristic.
“There is no doubt that at this time the toughest team to beat at home is India. But what’s making it even better for India in Test cricket under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma is the overseas victories. Not only are they competitive overseas but also win matches, jiski wajah se dhaak ban chuki hai (because of which India have established their dominance),” said Ramiz on his YouTube channel.
India swept the two-Test series 2-0. The hosts won the first Test in Chennai by 280 runs and the second by seven wickets.
Ramiz, who was part of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning team, reserved special praise for Ravichandran Ashwin for his all-round skills.
Ashwin scored a century in the first Test while adding crucial runs in a partnership with fellow spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Ashwin then went on to take six wickets in Bangladesh’s second innings to complete India’s big win.
India Genius in Test Cricket | IND VS BAN | Ramiz Speaks
“He (Ashwin) has not been celebrated as much as he should be as an allrounder,” reckoned Ramiz. “If you look at his record, he is not less than anyone…He is a no-nonsense cricketer, takes everything in his stride. Even when he is the 12th man or is out of the team, there are no tantrums. He understands the team’s situation and his responsibility. Whenever he gets a chance, he plays brilliantly….There’s a lot to learn from Ashwin.
“Similarly Jadeja, who performs for his team at critical moments.”
Veteran off-spinner Ashwin has taken 527 wickets in 102 Tests besides scoring 3423 runs, including 6 hundreds and 14 fifties.
“He is opinionated but not like he does a lot of critical analysis of anything off the field. He has an intelligent take on the game, which shows in his comments,” Ramiz further said about Ashwin.
The ex-Pakistan skipper, who has also had a stint as Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, went on to relate the performance of Pakistan players with their Indian counterparts across the border.
Taking the example of Ashwin and Jadeja’s journey in cricket, Ramiz said players in his country become flat after peaking and then hit a descending curve.
“We have seen how these two (Ashwin and Jadeja) have grown in the game. In Pakistan, the performance of players plateaus and then slides down. There are a lot of examples of that in our country…but India’s great success story is that their players go on a learning curve and then continue to ascend for a long time,” said the 62-year-old Ramiz, who has played 57 Tests and 198 ODIs for Pakistan.
“They (Indian players) don’t plateau or fall off because they know there is a lot of competition sitting on the bench, players who can challenge them.”
