Gautam Gambhir Picks Underrated Pakistani Legend Over The Likes Of Muralidharan, Harbhajan As Greatest Off-Spinner

Gautam Gambhir has faced the likes of countless magicians with the ball throughout his illustrious career. When asked about who left him spellbound with spin, especially that of off-spin, one would assume that he would fall back on the likes of icons of such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh or even India’s current talisman spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. But, his answer was one that one could never guess or expect: Pakistan’s very own Saqlain Mushtaq.

The former cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir staked his claim over Mushtaq being the one of the most difficult bowlers he ever had to face in his career.

Saqlain Musftaq had an affluent career with the Men In Green, as he represented Pakistan at the highest level for over nine years, across 49 Tests and 169 ODIs, and picked up 208 and 288 wickets in each format accordingly.

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Gambhir, who played for the Men in Blue for over 13 overs, exclaimed that Mushtaq’s off-the-wicket deliveries were amongst those which made any batter’s life difficult.

“I think nobody was better than Saqlain Mushtaq. I played against Muralitharan a lot and batted against the likes of Saeed Ajmal, Harbhajan Singh, and Ashwin as well. But, at his peak, Mushtaq was different,: said Gambhir on a Star Sports broadcast.

The iconic Indian opener also pointed out that it was Mushtaq indeed who introduced the world to the Doosra, and talked about how despite his reputation for being a great player of spin, Mushtaq just left him speechless at times.

“He (Mushtaq) was the one who introduced the Doosra ball. And how many spinners bowled in the last 10 overs in the 90s? Everyone used to say that I played well against spin. But, in England, when I came across Saqlain Mushtaq, despite the lack of pitch there, the ball came out of his hands very accurately. So I think there can’t be a better off spinner than him at his peak,” said Gambhir.

Mushtaq broke into the bowling ranks of Pakistan’s national team at the early age of 18. But, his injury-prone nature rendered his career short as he was forced to retire at merely 28 years of age.