Former Test spinner Mushtaq Ahmed believes young spin sensation Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah could form a lethal leg-spin duo for Pakistan.
“The focus of selection committee is that if we have two spinners with different variations and both could become match-winners, then why can’t both play in one match,” Ahmed was quoted as saying by Associated Press in Lahore on Wednesday.
Mushtaq, who is the current head coach at the National Cricket Academy, is helping the 18-year-old Shadab refine his skills and working on improving Shah’s art of bowling googlies.
The former cricketer said non-sub-continental teams struggle against leg-spinners and advised Pakistan to take advantage of it in the upcoming ODI and Test series against the West Indies.
“Two leg-spinners against a western team will have a positive impact,” Ahmed said. “In one-day cricket if we have leg-spinners who could take wickets in the middle overs, it will be a huge advantage for us.”
Shadab burst onto the international stage with 10 wickets in the four-match T20 series against the Windies, winning player of the series award as Pakistan clinched the series 3-1.
Shah, meanwhile, has been Pakistan’s key bowler since making his Test debut in 2014. He has 124 wickets to his name in only 23 Test matches, although he has struggled in conditions outside the sub-continent.
Mushtaq said Pakistan has a more established Test team than the West Indies and conditions in the Caribbean will be more like the UAE, which will favour Pakistan bowlers.