'Cannot Be An Easy Dressing Room:' R Ashwin On Pakistan's Horrific Defeat Against Bangladesh

Pakistan hit rock bottom after dropping to eighth position in the latest ICC Test Rankings, their lowest since 1965. The series of setbacks continued for Pakistan following their historic whitewash against Bangladesh in their two-match home Test series. It was the first instance when Pakistan tasted the sour flavour of defeat against Bangladesh in red-ball cricket.

Their latest slump marked their lowest ranking in the Test format, barring the period where they did not have a place in the rankings due to an insufficient number of matches. In the opening Test match of the series, Pakistan had their backs against the wall, with Bangladesh playing a much more aggressive brand of cricket. Pakistan struggled to understand the nature of the surface that was on offer and succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat.

With a 1-0 lead in their hand, Bangladesh once again stepped into the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, looking to create more history on Pakistani soil. After the first day was lost to bad light and rain, Pakistan had a firm grip on the second Test after reducing Bangladesh to 26/6 with Khurram Shahzad leading the charge. Litton Das (138) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (78) pulled out Bangladesh from a peculiar situation with a partnership that will be remembered for ages. The duo forged a 165-run stand to change the dynamics of the game.

An inspired bowling performance from Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana saw Bangladesh rattle Pakistan's batting unit. The pace duo combined to pick nine wickets. With 185 on board, Pakistan bowlers bowled with discipline but lacked the attacking tenacity to cause trouble to Bangladesh. Bangladesh cruised to a comfortable six-wicket win to script a historic whitewash over Pakistan.

India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin expressed sympathy for the Pakistan cricket team following their whitewash defeat to Bangladesh on home soil.

"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.

"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," said Ashwin on his Youtube Channel.

The impact of the result changed the entire outlook of the ICC World Test Championship standings. With a 2-0 series win, Bangladesh leapfrogged England to number four with a point percentage of 45.83. Meanwhile, with two wins in seven matches, Pakistan dropped to the eighth position with a point percentage of 19.05. (With ANI Inputs)