"If Ashwin was English right now, then they would have told him to retire"

"If Ashwin was English right now, then they would have told him to retire" - Monty Panesar

Monty Panesar Interview - Source: Getty — Monty Panesar. (Image Credits: Getty)

Former England spinner Monty Panesar believes the England team's management would have asked Ravichandran Ashwin to retire if he had played for them, given his current age. The 42-year-old opined that English cricket would have let go of Ashwin to give a chance to the youngsters.

The 38-year-old Indian spinner is still one of the best going on in the international circuit. Ashwin showcased his all-round brilliance in the recent Test between India and Bangladesh as he struck a century on Day 1 to rescue their side out of trouble. The veteran followed it up with six scalps in the fourth innings to fashion a 280-run win for India.

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Speaking to ANI, Panesar observed that English cricket likes to experiment a lot more than other teams, stating:

"They experiment more. If Ashwin was English right now, then they would have told him to retire because they want to bring youngsters who have the potential to play. But I think England experiments more, and they like to experiment."

By snaring six wickets in the India-Bangladesh Test, Ashwin has climbed to eighth position in the list of highest wicket-takers in the format. During the Chennai Test, he went past Courtney Walsh's tally of 519 wickets.

"I see Nathan Lyon in my opinion" - Monty Panesar on the better bowler

With Australia's Nathan Lyon and Ashwin in consistent competition for the 'best spinner' tag , Panesar opined that the former is a better bowler. However, he equally feels Ashwin is a great thinker of the game.

"I think I see Nathan Lyon in my opinion. Yes, he is a better bowler. But I think Ashwin is a better bowler in India. I think he thinks like a batter when he bowls. He is able to pick out the weakness and he can exploit it, and that is his biggest advantage. He bats really well when he bowls; he knows what the batters are thinking," Panesar told ANI.

The two will come face to face during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series later this year.