KARACHI: Spin bowling great Abdul Qadir has tipped Yasir Shah to match Saeed Ajmal's exploits as Pakistan look to inflict another heavy loss on England in the upcoming three-match Test series.
The 29-year-old Yasir, who has led Pakistan's spin attack in the absence of Ajmal, has picked up 61 wickets in only 10 Tests, jumping to number four in the International Cricket Council rankings since making his debut only a year ago.
And Qadir, who is widely credited for reviving the art of legspin, says Yasir will be the major difference between Pakistan and England in the Test encounters starting October 13.
“Pakistan have a clear edge over England simply because of their quality spin attack. If Yasir continues to perform the way he has been in the last few series, England will be in real trouble. Traditionally, England have not been too competent against quality legspin,” Qadir told Dawn.
“Conditions in the UAE give Pakistan an advantage over all teams other than India, who are better players of spin bowling,” he added.
The former chief selector, however, warned Misbah-ul-Haq's side against banking too much on their spin attack and urged the batsmen to put up runs on the board if they are to match their 2012 whitewash of England.
“Pakistan will need to sure that they are not only focussing on only one discipline.”
“If England manage to score big, which is very likely with Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Joe Root in the ranks, bowlers like Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Samit Patel will be a handful for the Pakistan batsmen.”
Off-spin crisis
The 60-year-old spin maestro also expressed his disappointment over Pakistan's failure to unearth a quality off-spinner after Ajmal lost some of his magic touch.
“Players like Imran Khan retired from the game but Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were waiting in the ranks. Unfortunately, after Ajmal lost his place in the side, Pakistan have not made an effort to find his replacement.”
Qadir revealed he had approached the Pakistan Cricket Board with the offer of unearthing spin talent in the country but did not get a positive response from the officials.
