Saqlain proves his mettle

Saqlain Mushtaq is widely regarded as the best off spinner in a long time and he proved it to the World just how talented he is. Taking 8 wickets in an innings is no easy task but Saqlain was always special. Though he was so close to taking 10 wickets and breaking Kumble’s record, which he accomplished against Pakistan, But even 8 wickets out of eight is a fantastic effort. Saqlain is one of those bowlers who is so unruffled and unaffected by any situation or even crisis. When he made his debut at the age of 19, he did not take long to deliver. He is a tremendous bowler because not only can he turn the ball but he can also fox the batsman with his away going delivery to the right-handed batsmen. That’s one ball that has deceived even the best. He took a while before he got going in test cricket but once he settled in there he did not look back. He had a tremendous series against India when they toured India. He was exceptional as took a lot of wickets and one of the main reasons for Pakistan’s success.

His bowling against England was exceptional for two reasons. One, none of the batsmen could dominate against him. Second, even though the English batsmen were scoring runs easily, he still came on and got his team crucial breakthroughs. Even those batsmen who were well set were not able to open their arms on his bowling. He has so much variety in his bowling, which makes him so special. Even the best in the World treat him with respect. He is one of the very few spinners who bowls in the slog overs or in the first 15 in One day internationals and more often than not he delivers. Very seldom one sees him get clobbered. He came to the limelight when Pakistan toured Australia in 1996 for Carlton and United series where he troubled all the batsmen. His success on the hard and bouncy pitches of Australia was like a reinstatement of the amount of talent that this man has.

World cricket has been short of some quality spinners and Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq have been the reasons for keeping the legacy alive. He has been a great bowler and the success against England is just the beginning of many more to come.