Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri recently opened up about his admiration for Indian legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket following the third Test match between Australia and India at the Gabba. Shastri, who had the privilege of working closely with Ashwin during his tenure as the head coach, shared his thoughts on what made Ashwin one of the most outstanding players in Indian cricket.

“I think what stands out for me was his wanting to evolve all the time. He wasn't the kind of guy satisfied as to where he started," Shastri said on ICC Review. 

“He wanted new tricks to be learned. He pursued it, practiced hard at it and continued to look for new things as his career progressed, to keep up with the times,” Shastri said.

Ashwin bows out of international cricket with 537 Test wickets for India and is second to legendary Anil Kumble, who has 619 Test wickets. Shastri also lauded Ashwin and Jadeja's bowling partnership, highlighting their quest for wickets.

“And for him to do it in his span and the way he has done it, especially when it came to bowling in the last four or five years, I think in India, along with (Ravindra) Jadeja, I think they were a terrific pair, the real spin twins," Shastri said.

"They complemented each other well, and they spurred each other on, you know, so I would say a lot of Jadeja's wickets in the last, you know, five-six years have come because of Ashwin and vice-versa," Shastri stated.

During his career, Ashwin picked up the wickets of 269 right-handed batters and 268 left-handed batters.

“For me it was his guile, wanting to excel in his craft and (especially) in the last two-three years the way he got the ball to the way gave it a rip and got it to dip on the batsman with drift made him stand out," Shastri noted.

“And you look at his record against right-handers, against left-handers, it's pretty much similar, you know, which says it all. It didn't matter to him who he was bowling against. You know, he was up for it," Shastri said.