ECB rope in Saqlain Mushtaq to help England spinners

Team England is in India and despite the natural tendency of the wickets to assist the slower bowlers, their spinners have struggled to trouble the Indian batsmen. On the contrary, the Indian spin-trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav has made life difficult for the English batters so much so that in spite of the fact that the matches are played on sporting tracks the visitors were beaten quite comprehensively in two of the three Tests.

To tackle the problem and to improve the performance in the limited-overs leg the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has signed Saqlain Mushtaq to assist its spinners. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid and offie Moeen Ali are the two regular features and hold a crucial role for themselves in the team. Saqlain who mastered the art of spin bowling has already joined the English team and is working with the duo to help them extract better results. Though England as a team has failed among bowlers Rashid has been the stand out performer delivering consistently.

The Pakistani legend is also enjoying his stint with them and said it has been a pleasant experience for him. “The experience of coaching English players in India has been a pleasant one,” Saqlain was quoted by Express Tribune. “Adil and Moeen are eager to learn and that is why they are delivering improved performances. I hope they will improve further.”

Though he has been traveling around the world helping spinners improve their bowling and has been a key name in raising the standard of spin bowling but Saqlain’s heart beats for his motherland Pakistan and wants to give back to Pakistan cricket.
“I help spinners across the globe but my heart still beats for Pakistan,” said Saqlain. “This country has given me a lot and I want to give all of it back. I am ready to offer my services to the Pakistan Cricket Board whenever they need me.”

The fourth Test of the ongoing series starts on December 8 while the Test series will end at Chennai on December 20 following which both the teams will lock horns in 3 ODIs and as many T20Is. The limited-overs series kicks off on January 15 in Pune.