Muralitharan, Harbhajan, Ashwin, Ajmal Snubbed As Gautam Gambhir Names Ex-Pak Star As Greatest Spinner

Gautam Gambhir is one of India’s most decorated opening batters. The former India opener plied his trade for the country for almost a decade and remained a key member of the team across formats for the most part of his illustrious career.

The India great was a key member of the team that won the T20 World Cup, and ODI World Cup and achieved the number one Test ranking. Gautam Gambhir was the top-scorer in the final of both World Cups and also achieved the number-one ranking for Test batsmen in 2009. At his peak, Gautam Gambhir was undeniably one of the best all-format openers in the world.

During his illustrious career, Gautam Gambhir faced some of the most successful bowlers in the history of the game. He faced the likes of fast bowlers such as Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Lasith Malinga, Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, and many more, while also encountering spinners like Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Saeed Ajmal, and Graeme Swann, among others. He also played against the likes of Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, and Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL.

Gautam Gambhir names the best spinner:

Gautam Gambhir was recently asked to pick the best off-spinner. And the former India batsman snubbed the likes of Muralitharan, Ashwin, Ajmal, and others to pick ex-Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. Speaking on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir, who was one of the best players of spin bowling, revealed that he once faced the former spinner in nets when the latter was not an active cricketer and found it tough to handle him.

“Mera maanna hai Saqlain Mushtaq se behtar off spinner nahi huye. Maine Muralitharan ko bahut khela hai, maine Saeed Ajmal bhi khela hai, maine Harbhajan Singh aur Ashwin bhi, lekin Saqlain Mushtaq apni peak par was different. Jaise Saqlain Mushtaq ka ball off the wicket nikalta tha, aur doosra agar kisi ne introduce kiya hai toh vo Saqlain Mushtaq.

“(I think nobody was better than Saqlain Mushtaq. I played Muralitharan a lot and batted against Saeed Ajmal, Harbhajan Singh, and Ashwin as well, but at his peak, Mushtaq was different. He was the one who introduced Doosra),” said Gautam Gambhir.

“Us time par kitne aise off spinners the jo last 10 overs mein bowling kar sakte the. Log kehte the ki main spin achi khelta hoon lekin main Saqlain Mushtaq ko England ke tour par gaye the toh Saqlain Mushtaq ko khela. Us time vo bilkul unfit the par tab bhi unke hath se jaisa ball nikal raha tha, mera maanna hai ki peak par Saqlain Mushtaq se bada off spinner mujhe nahi lagta ki world cricket mein koi hua hai

“(How many spinners were there at that time who used to bowl in the last 10 overs? People say that I play spin bowling well, but when I went on the England tour and played Saqlain Mushtaq, At that time, he was totally unfit, but still, the way the ball was coming out of his hand, I don’t think there was any better off spinner than him at his peak),” he added.

Saqlain Mushtaq represented Pakistan in 49 Tests and 169 ODIs. He picked up 208 wickets in Tests and 288 wickets in the ODI format.