Name:

Saqlain Mushtaq

Nickname:

Saqqi

Date of Birth:

27 Nov 1976

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Career:

Test: 1995 - 2004
ODI: 1995 - 2003
First Class: 1994 - 2008

Teams:

Surrey (Regional)
Pakistan (Country)

Saqlain Mustaq: Still honing his technique

Saqlain Mushtaq: Attacking spinner created the doosra

Saqlain Mushtaq was born on December 29, 1976 in Lahore, Punjab.

Saqlain was a right arm off spinner who began his first-class career at the age of 17 and made an instant impact.

He made his Test debut in the 1995 home series against Sri Lanka. Having relied mostly on the off-break during the initial phase of his career, his armoury soon started to expand.

He spent long hours in the nets trying to perfect the art and unveiled a delivery which spun away from the right-hander. This is called the "other one" or the "doosra" in Urdu.

Saqlain is now credited as the inventor of the doosra which has become a favoured weapon in the modern off spin bowler’s arsenal.

Saqlain, who comes from a humble background, stated that he discovered the doosra while playing cricket with a table tennis ball. "I used to play with my brother and cousin at the roof of my house in Lahore and tried the doosra with a table tennis ball," he said. "I got very excited when the ball turned the other way. I tried and tried and perfected it and when I used to go to play club matches I would baffle the batsmen with (the) doosra, and on winning the matches I was rewarded with sumptuous lunches and dinners. And from there I broke into the Pakistan team."

Saqlain vied with Murali and Warne as the premier ODI spin bowler in the 1990s.

At the end of his career in 2004, he had taken 288 ODI wickets from 169 games at an astounding average of 21.78. In fact, his average was the second best among all bowlers with 200 or more wickets after South Africa‘s Allan Donald.

In 49 Tests, he took 208 wickets at 29.83. In 1996, during the 1st Test against Zimbabwe, Saqlain (69) combined with Wasim Akram (257 not out) to put on a record 313 for the eight wicket. This stood as the world record for the 8th wicket in Test cricket until Stuart Broad and Jonathan Trott surpassed it during the infamous "spot fixing" Test against Pakistan at Lords in 2010.

After losing his spot in the Pakistan team, Saqlain concentrated on his county cricket career with Surrey. After retirement, he has coached England and Pakistan spinners.

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter