Saqlain Mushtaq vs Saeed Ajmal - who is the better?

[War]

A classic case of the pioneer versus developer (potentially i think) . Mushtaq invented the doosra & his bowling action sort of became the template by which many Pakistan off-spinners since such as Hafeez, Arshad Khan, Shoaib Malik & most importantly Saeed Ajmal has copied in the last 15 years.



Sadly as most know, Saqlain's just fell away after the thrashing he got from Sehwag in the 2004 Multan test. But his exploits before which in ODI's for example he was one the best death bowlers & was a more lethal ODI spinner than Warne & Murali for a long time.

Ajmal started late of course, but has done a brilliant job as a late bloomer across all formats. Observing Ajmal now as has become the clear best spinner in the world in the post warne/murali era - its almost like watching Saqlain bowl back in the late 90s/early 2000s at his best.

So i think the question has to be asked now is Ajmal at his peak currently better/equal to Saqlain at his peak back in the days?

Discuss...

 

[sami ullah khan]

I have seen plenty of both and I can say that Saqlain at his peak looked more threatening. His exploits in India 1999-2000 test series were amazing. He bamboozled the best players of spin bowling. I would love to see how Ajmal can bowl in test cricket against Indians.
Saqlain fell apart when he started to bowl more doosras than off spin. Saeed Ajmal uses his doosras with great deal of intelligence at the moment.

 

[SaiSrini]

Saqlain any day. He had a far better action.

 

[War]

I have seen plenty of both and I can say that Saqlain at his peak looked more threatening. His exploits in India 1999-2000 test series were amazing. He bamboozled the best players of spin bowling. I would love to see how Ajmal can bowl in test cricket against Indians.
Saqlain fell apart when he started to bowl more doosras than off spin. Saeed Ajmal uses his doosras with great deal of intelligence at the moment.

Ye a dominant series vs India in tests would be nicefor Ajmal to accomplish. But given the political factors that are preventing the teams from playing each other & the fact that India's batting isn't as strong as it was in 99-2000, i wonder if accomplishing such a feat vs India won't be the same as before.

 

[digiosmosis]

Doosra and Teesra are variations of off spin deliveries. These are believed to be coined by Pakistani ace spinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

An off-spin is the regular delivery for an off-spinner, which turns into the right-hander and away from the left-hander. The Doosra or the other one (In Urdu) is the exact opposite – the ball turns into the left-hander and away from the right-hander.

As for the Teesra, also known as Jalebi, it is a flipper for a leg spin delivery. The Teesra despite being in existence for so long was never much popular among the off spinners. It rose to prominence again, however, in 2012 when current Pakistani spinner Saeed Ajmal grabbed a 10-wicket haul in a test against England. he continued the practice in the subsequent world cup.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

This thread is a joke. Ajmal was a chucker. Saqlain was probably the best off spinner of all time.

 

[Rehan_24]

Tough call.. I would pick Ajmal as best due to the impact he generated with his dusra, his sharo tactics against quality batsmen in crunch situations, and his aggressive attitude. Also, his tenure felt to me little longer than saqlain. Saqlian was best in his era but fell to poor performances little early, while I felt Ajmal was far more sharper with his bowling tactics and was a quick learner as well as he used to have an aggression like a fast bowler which differentiated with saqlain like Shane Warne who also possessed a similar aggression. After the thrashing from Mike Hussy in the memorable Worldt20 semi final, Ajmal came up more better and lethal in the post matches.

Those calling him a chucker should remember how he confused Sachin multiple times though Sachine was at the twilight of his career.

It wasnt about chucking, the rules went pretty hard for the off spinners, Ajmal lived his era well by that time and world best players used to say that when Ajmal isnt in the side, we feel so happy because he is a fantastic bowler. These are the statements
from the players like Kallis and Greame Smith.