 Mushtaq in 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1976-12-29)29 December 1976 (age 48) Lahore,Punjab,Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right armoff break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Shadab Khan (son-in-law)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 134) | 8 September 1995 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 1 April 2004 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 103) | 29 September 1995 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 7 October 2003 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–2004 | Pakistan Intl. Airlines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1998 | Islamabad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2008 | Surrey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Lahore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Sussex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source:ESPNcricinfo,8 December 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saqlain Mushtaq (born 29 December 1976) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former internationalcricketer who was the head coach of thePakistani national cricket team between 2021 and 2022.[3] He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", aleg break delivery bowled with anoff break action. He was the fastest to reach the milestones of 200 and 250 wickets in ODIs.[4][5] Mushtaq made history when he became the first Pakistani to take ahat-trick at aCricket World Cup, which he did against Zimbabwe during the1999 tournament.
A right-armoff breakbowler, Saqlain played 49Test matches and 169One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Pakistan between 1995 and 2004. He took 208 Test and 288 ODI wickets[6] and also scored a Test matchcentury, againstNew Zealand, in March 2001.[7] Until 2016, Saqlain was the fastest bowler in the history of ODI cricket to take 100 wickets.[8][9]
Saqlain was born to a government clerk on 29 December 1976, inLahore into aPunjabi family. His ancestral home is in village Chali Khoo inAmritsar district ofEast Punjab, now inIndia.[10] He has two elder brothers: Sibtain, who also playedfirst-class cricket for Lahore, and Zulqurnain. Saqlain played forGovt. M.A.O. College Lahore for three years and won the championship each year.[6][9] Saqlain never played cricket at school level, but started playing for Zareef Memorial Cricket Club Second Eleven when he was only 13. He always wanted to be anoff-spinner: "I never wanted to be a quick bowler. I was very skinny and never had too much strength in the body."[9] Saqlain was coached by Ahmad Hassan and his brothers at the club level. At the age of 14, he went to theGovt. M.A.O. College Lahore, where he was coached by Mumtaz Akhtar Butt. He played for the college and won the championship for three consecutive years.[9]
Mushtaq is a follower of theDeobandi school of thought ofSunni Islam and has been associated with theTablighi Jamaat movement.[11] Saqlain Mushtaq married Sana Mushtaq, aBritish Pakistani, in December 1998.[12][13][14] He received hisBritish passport in 2007.[15][16] His daughter, Malika, is married to Pakistani cricketerShadab Khan.[17]
Saqlain started his first-class career in 1994–95 at the age of 17. In his first season, he took 52 wickets and was selected to play for Pakistan A in a one-day tournament atDhaka. In September 1995, he got international recognition, taking seven wickets for the PCB Patron's Eleven against the visiting Sri Lankans. Former Pakistan captainWasim Akram said of him that he was "the greatest off-spinner he has seen" and "as aggressive as a fast bowler, not afraid of getting hit, and has this total belief in himself."[9]
Saqlain representedSurrey for eight successive seasons from 1997 to 2004. However, his time was interrupted there and his international career withPakistan effectively ended in 2004.[18] In August 2005, he played his first match againstBangladesh A after recovering from injury and took 4–87 from 35 overs over two innings.[19] However, that same week, in his return to theCounty Championship, he conceded 110 off 28 overs againstGloucestershire, taking just one wicket.[20]
In February 2006 he signed for Ireland for theC&G Trophy, along with teammateAbdul Razzaq.[18][21] Later, in February 2007, Sussex announced that Saqlain had signed a two-year contract with them. His initial requirement was to cover for fellow PakistanisMushtaq Ahmed andRana Naved-ul-Hasan, who were part of Pakistan'sWorld Cup campaign.[22] On 26 September 2007, Saqlain was released by the county on his request. On 8 October 2007, Saqlain was re-signed by Surrey.[23] On 28 October, according to ESPNcricinfo, he was released by Surrey.
In April 2009 he joined Old Whitgiftians CC[24] to play in the Surrey Championship. He took 64 wickets in his first season, including five 5-wicket hauls, to earn Whits promotion to the first division. He was also involved in the youth setup. In 2010, after relocating toLeicestershire, he joined Syston Town Cricket Club, playing in the Everards County League.[25] In late 2010, he was training inTaunton at the facilities ofSomerset County Cricket Club, whom he has now joined as a temporary spin-bowling coach for the2011 Caribbean Twenty20 competition.[26] On 11 April 2013, it was announced that Saqlain would be joining Birmingham League Division Three Side Evesham for the 2013 Season.[27]
Saqlain made his Test debut in September 1995 againstSri Lanka atArbab Niaz Stadium,Peshawar.[6] He picked up four wickets at an average of 26.75 in the match,[28] and accumulated nine wickets in the series from two Tests.[29] His next remarkable series was against the same team, after which he topped the list of wicket-takers with 14 in two Tests,[30] including nine wickets in the first match of the series.[31] Six months later he took a five-wicket haul against South Africa atRawalpindi Cricket Stadium—first Test of the home series.[32] In the next home series, against West Indies, he played in the third Test at theNational Stadium,Karachi. He took nine wickets for 80 runs, earning him the man-of-the-match award and ensuring Pakistan's clean sweep against the touring side.[33] His next prominent performance was against Zimbabwe at theGaddafi Stadium,Lahore, where he claimed a five-wicket haul.[34]
The highlight of his Test career came in the away series against India in 1999, where he achieved his first ten-wicket haul in a Test match. He took five-wicket hauls in both innings of the match,[35] In the first Test, with India needing only 17 runs to win, Saqlain effectively sealed Pakistan's win by taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, who had scored 136.[36] In the second Test of the series at theFeroz Shah Kotla Ground,Delhi, he once again took five-wicket hauls in both innings but could not prevent defeat.[37] He ended the series with 20 wickets at an average of 20.15, which earned him the man-of-the-series award.[38][39]
In November 1999, when Pakistan toured Australia, he took 10 wickets in two Test matches, including six wickets for 46 runs in Hobart.[40][41] In Pakistan's tour to the West Indies in 2000 he was ineffective, taking only six wickets in five innings, which included five for 121 at Kensington Oval.[42] His career-best bowling in an innings came in November 2000 againstEngland at theGaddafi Stadium,Lahore, in a match in which he took 8 wickets for 164 runs in the first innings. The performance earned him a man-of-the-match award.[43] He was the highest wicket-taker of the series, accumulating 18 wickets with an average of 23.94.[44] In the 2001–02 season, Saqlain took seven wickets against Bangladesh.[45] In the 2002–03 season, he took 15 wickets against Zimbabwe at their home; averaging 21.53, he was the highest wicket-taker of the series.[46]
Saqlain played 49 Test matches for Pakistan during 1995 and 2004 and accumulated 208 wickets at an average of 29.83. He took 13 five-wicket hauls and three ten-wicket hauls, and his best performance for a match was 10 wickets for 155 runs.[6] As a batsman, he scored 927 runs with the average of 14.48, including a century and two fifties.[6] His highest score in the format was 101 not out against New Zealand atJade Stadium,Christchurch.[47]
Saqlain made hisOne Day International (ODI) debut in September 1995 against Sri Lanka at theMunicipal Stadium,Gujranwala. He could not take a wicket, but Pakistan won the match by 9 wickets.[48] His first match-winning performance came against same team in the final match of1996 Singer Cup. He took 3 wickets in the match.[49] His career-best bowling figures in this format are 5 wickets for 20 runs against England at theRawalpindi Cricket Stadium, in October 2000.[50] He took five-wicket hauls in ODIs on six occasions.[51] He claimed two hat-tricks, both against Zimbabwe, the first in 1996 and the second in 1999, when he became the first Pakistani to do so at aWorld Cup.[52]
On 28 May 2016, Saqlain Mushtaq was appointed by theECB as England's spin consultant for the home seriesagainst Pakistan.[53]
On 29 October 2016, the ECB decided to use Saqlain's services to prepareEngland team for thetest series against India.[54] On 13 November 2016, it was announced that he would remain with the England team until the end of the third Test inMohali, after agreeing an extension to his deal with the ECB.[55]
On 6 September 2021, he was appointed the interim head coach ofPakistan national cricket team byPCB afterMisbah-ul-Haq's resignation from the post.[56] In February 2022, due to team's excellent performance under him, his contract was extended for a year.[3]
Saqlain is credited with the invention of the "doosra", an off-spinner's delivery bowled with an action similar to that of an off-break.[18] However, it spins in the opposite direction (i.e. from theleg side to theoff side), confusing batsmen, which makes it an effective weapon.[57] Saqlain became well known for this variation ball, which was integral to his success, although he received criticism for overusing it.[6] Other bowlers likeShoaib Malik,Saeed Ajmal,Muttiah Muralitharan,Ajantha Mendis,Johan Botha andHarbhajan Singh also used this delivery in international cricket.
During his time atSurrey Saqlain worked on developing new deliveries, which he called the "teesra" which means "third one" and the "chotha".[58] He used the teesra in theIndian Cricket League (ICL) while playing for Lahore Badshahs.Russel Arnold of Sri Lanka was the first player to face the teesra. He was also the first batsman to get out from a teesra. However, little else is known about these deliveries.[59] Later, this delivery was used by Saeed Ajmal againstEngland in 2012.[60]
His other variation was thearm ball, which again uses a similar grip to the leg-break, but imparts back-spin instead of side-spin and causes the ball to go straight on.
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