Saqlain Mushtaq can help England batsmen cope with Yasir Shah: Mohammad Yousuf

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has backed England’s decision to rope in former off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as a spin consultant for the second Test at Old Trafford. He believes that the idea of getting him onboard to help their batsmen sharpen their skills to play spin bowling will pay them dividends.

“Saqlain was one of the best spinner’s I saw and it is a good move by England as their batsmen had no clue about Yasir Shah in the first Test,” Yousuf said.

The England squad has been without a specialist spin coach since 2014 when former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed left his job to return to Pakistan. The 41-year-old says while Saqlain had flown to Manchester apparently to give tips to spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid but he could also help the English batsmen understand how to counter Shah.

“He has been hired for this Test but I think the greatest short-term benefit may lie in him giving tips to their batsmen about how to play spin,” Yousuf said.

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Saqlain who was working for the state-owned Pakistan Television sports channel on the England series flew to join the England team on short notice this week. A qualified coach, Saqlain has in the past worked as a spin consultant with the West Indies and New Zealand cricket teams.

Yousuf also said that England had done the right thing by not playing leg-spinner, Adil Rashid in the second Test which began on Friday.

“I don’t think any spinner apart from Muttiah Muralitharan got our batsmen in trouble. And I think more than Rashid it will be Anderson, Broad, Woakes and Stokes who will test our batsmen at Old Trafford,” he said.

Yousuf said England had taken the right decision to bat first seeing the condition of the pitch.

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“They will come hard at Pakistan as they will be desperate to level the series but everything will depend on how many runs they put on the board in the first innings,” he added.