Pakistan spin great Saeed Ajmal reveals his favorite scalp

Pakistan’s spin guru Saeed Ajmal retired from all forms of cricket in November. He has produced some incredible performances for his side and will forever be remembered as a spinning great in Pakistan. When asked, which was his most memorable scalp in his long and illustrious career, the 40-year-old singled out the dismissal of South Africa stalwart Jacques Kallis in the 2009 World T20 semi-final.

Ajmal feels that particular wicket and the subsequent tournament triumph brought him fame and fortune he had never expected. Post retirement, Ajmal now plans on grooming new spin talent and helping those with problematic bowling actions. Reliving his wicket of the Proteas all-rounder in an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune the former offie said, “The match was at a point where the South African team had the upper hand and Kallis was hitting the ball everywhere.”

He added, “At that time when I took his wicket it was the best moment for me. It was so crucial it almost felt like we had won the World Cup. That was a proud moment for me and I was lucky to be a part of that team … easily one of my best memories.”

Ajmal was cursed by an abrupt halt in his career

Despite a scintillating World T20 outing, Ajmal was cursed with poor form. A year later, at a similar juncture, the orthodox off-spinner was held largely responsible when Pakistan lost to Australia at the death courtesy some clutch hitting by Australia’s Mike Hussey. Following the loss, Pakistan bowed out of the 2010 world cup. That remains the sole cricketing memory he would want to erase if given a chance.

However, he took the setback as another obstacle and didn’t let it derail his career. Ajmal went on to emerge as ODI’s top-ranked bowler the following year and held that position for two more years until the infamous problem with his bowling action brought an abrupt halt to his career.