R Ashwin lauds Australia's 'once-in-a-generation' cricketer; 'He's a fantastic player'

After Australian cricketer Cameron Green scored his first Test hundred on the second day of the Ahmedabad Test, Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin praised the all-rounder, calling him a "once-in-a-generation player" and stating that he will become a wonderful cricketer down the line. Ashwin's remarks came after Green received widespread admiration for his innings in Australia's first innings, which totalled 480 runs. 

'I expect Cameron Green to be a wonderful cricketer down the line': Ashwin

During the post-match press conference, Ashwin, the veteran off-spinner, described Green as a fantastic player and said that the Australian all-rounder has got strengths. Ashwin further added that he has been watching Green since seeing him for the first time during a practice game at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney.

“I hope you tuned into the IPL auction; it just tells you how the Indian cricketing fraternity rates Cameron Green. I think he’s a fantastic player. Just the raw materials for a person as tall as him, lovely levers, good batting sense, can bowl and really hit the deck well, moves pretty well on the field," Ashwin said. 

“These are once-in-a-generation cricketers you are talking about. We come from different countries – India is very different, we can’t protect such players for a long period of time. It’s either perform or perish. But in countries like Australia and England, they’re doing pretty well at that. I expect Cameron Green to be a wonderful cricketer down the line," he added.

“He’s got his strengths and you want to stay away from his strengths. Clearly from what we saw in Australia – I played a practice game against him at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney. From there on, I’ve been watching him bat, how well he moves to balls outside off, how well he comes down the pitch, how he sweeps the ball when he comes to the subcontinent," Ashwin said.

Green scored a brilliant 114 off 170 balls including 18 boundaries before being dismissed by Ashwin himself. Thanks to Green's knock and Usman Khawaja's tremendous batting display, Australia were able to post 480 runs. India's Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill then put on 36 runs on the board without any loss of wickets at stumps on Day 2. India are currently trailing by 444 runs. Rohit and Shubman will resume batting for the home side at scores of 17 and 18 runs, respectively.  

Image: BCCI