Top spinners in modern day cricket

1. Saeed Ajmal

Pakistan have produced a number of great spinners over the years – Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq to name a few. Saeed Ajmal is the deserved successor in this line. He had a few problems with his bowling action in 2009 when the umpires objected to his doosra, but that claim was quickly dismissed and his bowling action was given a clean chit.

He helped Pakistan complete a historic series win in England last year and picked up 24 wickets in the three-Test series. It is said that spinners mature later in life and that has been the case with Ajmal, who has only played 26 Tests at the age of 35.

But his statistics speak of his success. He has taken 133 wickets in the said 26 Tests and is an even greater threat in ODI’s with 132 wickets in 84 matches at an economy of just over 4.00 runs an over. It is a pity that Pakistan do not play a lot of cricket in a calendar year, given their inability to host matches at home, as we are being deprived of the skill of a great master of spin bowling.