In exclusive comments to Pakpassion.Net, former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq confirms that the Bangladesh Cricket Board has approached him for the role of spin bowling coach of the national side.

by Shayan Siddiqui (July 9th 2012) 

In recent years, the art of off-spin bowling has become much more prominent than it has ever been before, with the likes of Graham Swann, Muttiah Muralitharan and Saeed Ajmal all contributing to the rejuvenation of this form of bowling. For the latter two, one of their biggest weapons has been the doosra, which has flummoxed so many batsmen expecting the ball to turn the conventional way, into the right hander. Whereas the present day proponents may well take the limelight by use of the doosra, the fact remains that the actual mastermind behind this revolutionary delivery was a Saqlain Mushtaq, the Pakistani spinner who became the fastest to reach the milestones of 100, 150, 200 and 250 ODI wickets, finishing with an average under 22. His test match stats were equally impressive, 208 wickets at under 30, but a recurring knee injury meant that he was unable to continue what promised to be a successful career.

Since his retirement, Saqlain has taken up several minor coaching roles, with players all over the world keen on benefitting from his wealth of knowledge and expertise. In 2009, the New Zealand coach Andy Moles invited Saqlain to not only improve the standard of spin bowling but also to help demystify spin for the Kiwi batsmen. Other significant assignments for Saqlain included one in 2011 when he travelled with the Somerset squad to the Caribbean T20 tournament as a mentor to the club’s young spinners. Australia also turned to him later that year as he was asked to spend a week at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane with the likes of Nathan Hauritz, Michael Beer and Jason Krezja. Saqlain is also a founding member of the Cricket Plus Academy in Luton where his experience as coach and mentor for younger spinners has been highly appreciated.

With such a fantastic array of achievements as a player and a coach behind him, it comes as no surprise that Saqlain is being considered for a role as permanent coach of a national side. In exclusive remarks to PakPassion.net, the legendary off Spinner confirmed that an approach had been made by the Bangladesh Cricket Board for this role "Yes it's accurate that I've been approached by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for the role of spin bowling coach. I'm honoured that they have made this approach and it would be a fantastic opportunity and great challenge for me. At the moment, my agent is in discussions with the BCB and I have not signed a deal yet to become the Bangladesh spin bowling coach.”

If Saqlain does take up the role, he will have a whole host of talented young Bangladeshi spinners to work with. Abdur Razzak, Shakib Ul-Hasan, and Suhrawadi Shuvo have all demonstrated their talents to the world, and some quality time spent with one of the greatest spinners ever may be just what they require to spur them on to greater things. Along with current coach Richard Pybus (formerly coach of Pakistan), Saqlain could help Bangladesh continue their recent upward trend in International cricket and see them start competing with the top sides on a regular basis.

"Bangladesh cricket has a lot of potential and hopefully if appointed I would love to work with Bangladeshi cricketers at all age groups. It will also be great to work with former Pakistan head coach Richard Pybus. I have a lot of respect for Richard who is an excellent coach" he concluded.