"It was my personal opinion" - Rohit Sharma on calling Ravichandran Ashwin an all-time great

Team India captain Rohit Sharma has insisted that calling veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin an 'all-time great' was his personal opinion.

Rohit's comments came after the first Test against Sri Lanka when Ashwin went past Kapil Dev's 434 Test wickets. It received a lot of flak from certain sections, including former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif, who stated that it must have been a 'slip of the tongue'.

However, the 34-year-old has once again asserted that the veteran off-spinner is an all-time great in his eyes. Speaking at the end of the Bengaluru Test, Rohit Sharma said:

"It was my personal opinion (that he is an all-time great). He puts in match-winning performances whenever we give him the ball. He still has a lot of life left in him. We have a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months. I need to make sure he's in a decent frame of mind."

Ashwin, who picked up six wickets in the pink-ball Test, also went past South Africa's Dale Steyn in the tally of highest Test wickets. He is currently eighth on the list with 442 scalps in 86 games.

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"He had everything he needed" - Rohit Sharma on Shreyas Iyer filling the shoes of Rahane, Pujara

The young middle-order batter was in the spotlight as India left behind veteran Test specialists Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Shreyas Iyer, who batted at No.6, stepped up to the task, accumulating 186 runs in three innings, including two fifties. Rohit Sharma spoke highly of Shreyas, saying that he will get better once he starts traveling.

Rohit added:

"Shreyas just continued where he left off in the T20 series with Sri Lanka. He appeared to maintain such form throughout the Test series. He was well aware that he was stepping into the footsteps of Rahane and Pujara, but he had everything he needed. When he starts traveling, he will be in better shape."

The newly-appointed Indian captain also showered praise on Rishabh Pant, who is getting better with each passing game.

"Rishabh appears to improve with each game he plays. Especially under these circumstances. We saw that last year in the England series, and now we see it again. Rishabh demonstrated his confidence with a few catches and stumpings," Rohit concluded.

The 24-year-old wicket-keeper batsman played some breathtaking knocks (39 off 26 balls and 50 off 31 balls) and was spectacular behind the stumps on a difficult Chinnaswamy pitch.

The India internationals will now unite with their respective IPL franchises for the 15th edition of the tournament that kicks off on March 26.