Imran Tahir says that leg-spinners need to be constantly backed by the captain

Imran Tahir, the South African leg-spinner who was with Delhi Daredevils last season before being released has already proved his credentials for his new franchise Rising Pune Supergiant. The leg-spinner was picked as a replacement for Australia’s Mitchell Marsh and after two games, he is the joint highest wicket taker along with Rashid Khan with 5 wickets to his kitty.

A few days ago, Tahir had publicly expressed his query on why Delhi, who played Tahir for two years, suddenly decided to release him ahead of the 2017 season.

Asked about facing former teammates this year, he said: “It will be more challenging for myself facing them. They know my game as much I know theirs after doing so much bowling in the nets,” Tahir was quoted as saying by Sportstar live.

As mentioned earlier, Tahir has performed well in this season so far. He bagged three wickets against the Mumbai Indians in their opener, and two against the Kings XI Punjab.

“I am not here to prove anything (to anyone). I wanted to be here to find out why I was not chosen (at the auction),” asserted Tahir. “I respect Pune, respect the team who showed faith in me. I am here to do my job.”

Leg spinners are wicket taking options for any team but they tend to leak runs as well. Tahir feels that leg-spinners need to be backed by the captain and the team, because they may not be able to bag wickets in every game.

“Leg-spinners will take wickets in one game, may cost runs in the next two. We need support. If the team is backing you, the captain is backing you, spinners will deliver.”

The Pune outfit has been played by too many off-field controversies, but they will look to perform better than 2016 this year, under new captain Steve Smith’s leadership.