Comparing Ajmal with the Guru of “Doosra” Saqlain Mushtaq
The world of international cricket has produced some World class spinners. Asian spinners in particular have dominated the international cricketing arena. Names like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Young-c41367 talent from Pakistan, who sooner or later will be part of the world superstar spin fraternity.
Ajmal has given the Pakistani team a very good chance to do well in the ongoing series against England in the 3rd test match at The Oval. After losing the first two test matches with utmost embarrassment the young Pakistani team was revived on day 3 with the bowling combination of Ajmal and left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir. The young fast bowler troubled the Englishmen with his late swing. Experts compared him to veteran left-arm bowler, hero of the 1992 World Cup http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292.
Ajmal was born on 14th October 1977 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. He made his international test debut on 4th July 2009 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. The young talent is a right-arm off spin bowler, and also has the ability to bowl the “doosra”, using it to good effect. “Doosra”, is the ball which turns the other way when pitched and is bowled similar to a normal off-spinner. The “doosra” was invented by veteran Pakistani off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. The veteran used the delivery to his advantage as it spins in the opposite direction and can easily confuse the batsman, making it a vital weapon for any off-spinner.
The veteran Mushtaq being the only spinner to take a hat-trick in an one-day international(ODI) was revealed to be the best spinner ever in the history of ODI’s by the statistical analysis conducted by Wisden in 2003. And is the sixth best ODI bowler ever in the history of the game. Even though, Ajmal can bowl with the same level of expertise as Mushtaq and can also bowl the “doosra” with the same standard of deception, the young spinner still has a long way to go.
Young Ajmal has an infant test career consisting of 6 matches, with 23 wickets at an average of 38.47. Mushtaq has a test career of 49 matches with 208 wickets, at an impressive average of 29.83. Obviously, Ajmal at the moment cannot compete in terms of his bowling career with the veteran spin Guru, but in due time, he can give him some competition.
In http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s ongoing tour of England, expert cricket commentators have viewed young Ajmal’s way of operating on the field as similar to his veteran predecessor. Experts regard his latest spell at The Oval most similar to Saqlain Mushtaq. Cricket experts and correspondent view the young talent to be as effective as Saqlain, as the youngster is a wicket taker. His ability to bowl the “doorsa” is as unrelenting and controlled as the Guru’s mastery. Another talent among his many was the regular change of pace and flight which was hard for the English batsmen to negate.
During the practice training session of the young Pakistani test team in the ongoing series, one could see the former off-spinner Mushtaq giving the young off-spinner Ajmal some bowling tips, at Leicester, 9th July, 2010. It shows the level of respect between the two Pakistani players. For Ajmal it is an honour enough that his off-break is being compared to the legend himself.
Nevertheless, the discovery of young talented Ajmal is surely something Pakistan’s cricket team was hoping for. Now with the likes of Amir, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, and Wahab Riaz, Pakistan’s test cricket side has the ability to take down World class batting orders.
Thus, the search for the right off-spinner for Pakistan comes to an end. The young test side with Ajmal mastering the art of off-break becomes a much more challenging test team to compete with. On the other hand, one will have to wait and see whether Ajmal is able to reach the same level as Saqlain Mushtaq.
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