Cricketer Profile: Pakistan's spin sensation Saeed Ajmal
Pakistan is known for producing good quality fast bowlers. Over the years, Pakistan has produced some of the best fast bowlers to play the gentlemen’s game. In between these fast bowlers, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 produced some top of the line spin bowlers also. Abdul Qadir
and Mushtaq Ahmed were quality leg break bowlers while http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saqlain-Mushtaq-c88743 ruled the off spin arena. Saeed Ajmal is the new addition to the list of Pakistani spinners. He is an off spinner and also has the ability to manoeuvre with the bat. Saeed Ajmal is an example
of dreams coming true. It took him almost 13 years to get a place in the national side but he never gave up.
Saeed Ajmal was born on 14th October 1977 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. He is one of those players who started their International careers really late. We can call it fate but when he got his opportunity, he never looked back and just made full use
of it.
Saeed Ajmal started to play cricket at an early age. He spent most of his teenage time playing cricket in the streets with his friends. Ajmal wanted to join the Pakistan cricket side. Initially, he played as a batsman and wanted to follow the heroics of
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zaheer-Abbas-c98435 but his coach at school advised him to start as a spinner. He followed this advice and started as an off spinner. Soon he was regarded as the best spinner at school level.
Saeed Ajmal started his domestic career in 1995 for his city Faisalabad. He has performed well and has more than 300 wickets to his name. He performed superbly in the 2007/08 domestic season for his side, ending up taking 38 wickets in just 12 matches. This
moved the selectors and he was called up to play for the national side.
Saeed Ajmal played his first One Day International on 2nd July, 2008 against arch rivals http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. He took one wicket in that high scoring game and his final stats were 1-47 in the allotted quota of 10 overs. He proved to be the most economical bowler
for Pakistan in that game. Till now Saeed Ajmal has taken 44 wickets in the 35 matches that he has played. He has developed a reputation for breaking partnerships and has a habit of taking wickets at the right time.
Saeed Ajmal played his debut Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in July 2009, a year after he played his first ODI. Unfortunately, Pakistan lost that match by 50 runs but Saeed Ajmal got noted for his performance as overall he took 5 wickets. His performance in the
second innings earned him a lot of praise from his team mates and critics. He has taken 33 wickets in a total of 9 Test matches with a career economy rate of 2.86.
Saeed Ajmal has also excelled in the Twenty20 format. He played a key role in Pakistan’s recently successful T20 World Cup campaign. His performance was beyond par and he just kept on taking wickets. His economy rate also was a plus point for his side.
Ajmal is improving with every game that he plays. He is also proving to be a handy batsman. In the death overs, his ability to strike the ball is an extra bonus for the Pakistan team.
Saeed Ajmal now wants to play in the 2011 World Cup and thus help his side towards victory.
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