If most right handed batsmen in the world today curse their luck for getting out to an off-spinner's 'doosra', the ball which spins the other way, they need to direct the blame in the direction of Lahore born Saqlain Mushtaq. The spin bowling scene of the late nineties was a variety in itself; Kumble and Warne were different kind of leg spinners, Muralitharan was a wrist-spinning off-spinner and Mushtaq was the orthodox off spinner who could spin it the other way with a normal off-spinning delivery's grip.

Saqlain was born in Lahore on 29th December 1976 and played for the Pakistan International Airlines and Islamabad Cricket Association from the age of 18. He impressed at an early age and was selected to play for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Peshawar in 1995. The highlight of his international career came in the Test where he took his first 10 wicket haul. Against a rampaging India in the sweltering heat of Chennai in 1999, Saqlain dismissed Sachin Tendulkar which sparked a late order collapse after India looked set to win the match. He ended up with 20 wickets in the two Test series. A heroic performance against India on the cricket field made any player an instant hero in Pakistan and Saqlain achieved legendary status with his show. He represented Pakistan in 49 Tests and picked up 208 wickets at an average of just under 30. The primary reason of him not playing more Tests was the emergence of off spinners like Shoaib Malik, who bowled with a similar action, but could bat better than him. Moreover Saqlain was a regular in the county circuit and was hugely successful for Surrey continuously throughout his international career. For batsmen, he was more than a handful in the ODIs. He was the fastest to reach 100 ODI wickets and his immaculate control meant that he more or less bowled in the death overs, with reasonable success.

After a career low in early 2000, his place in the Pakistan Test side was taken by the leg-spinner Danish Kaneria. Saqlain got a chance to repeat his performance against the Indians in 2003- 2004, but a Virender Sehwag blitzkrieg ensured that he ended up with figures of 1/204 and soon enough he was dumped out of the squad. He returned to England and joined his fellow country mate and spinner Mushtaq Ahmed in Sussex and there were rumors of the both of them going on to represent England. But Saqlain signed up with the rebel Indian Cricket League ( ICL) and the counties were quick to sever ties with him. In his career, he has represented Surrey, Sussex and has also played club cricket in Leicester. In late 2010, he was training in Taunton at the facilities of Somerset County Cricket Club, whom he has now joined as a temporary spin- bowling coach for the 2011 Caribbean Twenty20 competition. Saqlain was appointed the spin bowling coach of West Indies in February 2014.

Interesting Trivia

1) He married a British citizen in 2004 and gained a British passport. He was eligible to represent England after a four year qualifying period that ended in April 2008

2) He was the Wisden cricketer of the year in 2000

3) He is the fastest to reach the milestones of 100, 150, 200 and 250 wickets in ODIs

4) He was the first of only 2 spinners to have taken a hat-trick in ODIs

5) He has said in the interviews that he is working on deliveries which he has called 'teesra' and 'chotha' ( third and fourth)


By Siddharth Prabhakar
As of April 2014