Ashwin is a top quality spinner, his results are for all to see: Mushtaq Ahmed

Mushtaq Ahmed is regarded as one of the best leg-spinners to have ever played for Pakistan. He took over as the leading spinner of the team after Abdul Qadir retired. With his brilliant wrist work and great command over his line and length, he was a tough customer for any batsman to negotiate with.

In a recent conversation with PakPassion.net, the former Pakistani leggie spoke about the various prospects of spin bowling in the modern day cricket. He also gave his opinion on the leading spinners in world cricket today. The most notable of all mentions was of Indian off-spinner R Ashwin.

Ashwin is currently the leading bowler in Test rankings and also the all-rounder’s rankings. Mushtaq Ahmed cited exactly this point when commenting on the Indian offie. He quoted the progress made by Ashwin as ‘amazing’. He further went on to say that the way he is batting and improving his game with the bat is an add on for the Indian team.

“Ashwin’s progress is amazing and he is playing an important role for India, not only as a bowler but even as a batsman. He is equally effective from round and over the wicket and is making good use of the crease. On top of that he can literally “play” with the batsman, set fields to perfection and has great situation awareness. All these qualities make Ashwin a top-quality spinner and his results are there for all to see,” said Mushtaq Ahmed.

Another leg-spinner that has been hitting the headlines in the recent times has been England’s Adil Rashid. Mushtaq Ahmed had a brief stint with the England team as spin consultant. He reflected back at how he shares a great bond with Rashid. Commenting on about the English spinner, he believes that Rashid will continue to perform well for his team. It was his action that prevented him from being an instant success.

“If the action has issues, then it can take a good few years before you can perform at the international level. In Adil’s case, his action had problems and that is why it has taken him some time to establish himself. What I always told him was that apart from the technical aspect of the action, a spinner should have a big heart,” quoted Ahmed.

“Despite previous issues with his action, Adil now has a lot of confidence in himself and I am hoping that he will continue to do well and serve England to the best of his abilities,” he added further. Pakistan’s very own Yasir Shah has been developing into a great spinner of the modern game. No wonder Mushtaq had his word of praise for the leggie. He remarked that the only aspect Yasir now needs to focus on is his googly.

Talking about this, he said, “In terms of improvement, the single most important thing he must concentrate on is to improve his googly. When I was involved in the team he was taking wickets with this ball. He then had a shoulder issue so we eased off on practice for that delivery. If he doesn’t work on his googly, then because he is well-known to the batsmen around the world, they will start to manage him effectively.”