Asia Cup: Ravichandran Ashwin is a world-class bowler, says Saqlain Mushtaq

Saqlain said Moeen Ali and Nathan Lyon needed to prove themselves.

New Delhi: Former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq was full of praise for India's Ravichandran Ashwin when he was comparing the current off-spinners in world cricket.

“Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali still need to prove themselves but Ashwin is a world-class bowler and is bowling superbly at the moment. Ashwin has proved himself at Test level but the other two still need to do a bit more," the legendary spinner was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

With regards Ashwin’s record away from the sub-continent, Saqlain said it little dip in performance while playing in countries like Australia and England will do no harm to the Indian's reputation.

“Ashwin has skills. He has troubled batsmen in the subcontinent and he is capable of doing that outside as well. One needs to accept that in places like England and Australia, the performance graph will go down a bit,” he said.

“In Australia, you will play with three pacers and a specialist spinner, in India it will be opposite. The surface, the condition, the ball, everything changes. So if Ashwin gets five-for in India, he will perhaps get three in Australia. A captain’s plan for spinners in Australia is completely different unless there is some grip in the pitch. Spinner is your fourth option and accordingly will bowl less number of overs,” he further added.