Former Pakistan captain Muhammad Yousuf believes that England's decision to hire the services of former off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as a spin consultant for the second Test at Old Trafford will pay them dividends.
"Saqlain was one of the best spinner's I saw and it is a good move by England as their batsmen had no clue about Yasir Shah in the first test," Yousuf said today. The former skipper said while Saqlain had flown to Manchester apparently to give tips to spinners, Moin Ali and Adil Rashid but he could also help the English batsmen understand how to counter Shah. "He has been hired for this test but I think the greatest short-term benefit may lie in him giving tips to their batsmen about how to play spin," Yousuf said.
The England squad has been without a specialist spin coach since 2014 when former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed left his job to return to Pakistan. Yousuf said that the pitch at Old Trafford was good for batting but would take turn later on. "That is when Saqlain's role will become important," he added. Saqlain who was working for the state-owned Pakistan Television sports channel on the England series flew to join the England team on short notice this week.
A qualified coach, Saqlain has in the past worked as spin consultant with the West Indies and New Zealand cricket teams. Having faced criticism from some quarters for having taken up the short-term assignment, Saqlain told Pakistani media in Manchester he was a professional coach and it was his job. "If I get a good assignment I have to render my services professionally." Yousuf also said that England had done the right thing by not playing leg-spinner, Adil Rashid in the second Test which began on Friday.
"I don't think any spinner apart from Muttiah Muralitharan got our batsmen in trouble. And I think more than Rashid it will be Anderson, Broad, Woakes and Stokes who will test our batsmen at Old Trafford," he said.
Yousuf said England had taken the right decision to bat first seeing the condition of the pitch. "They will come hard at Pakistan as they will be desperate to level the series but everything will depend on how many runs they put on the board in the first innings," he added.
