Dubai: Sri Lankan batting legend Mahela Jayawardene, who retired after the ICC World Cup this year, will be back in the UAE next month - albeit in a new role.
Hailed as one of the finest players of spin bowling, he was been hired by the England board on giving tips on how to tackle the varied Pakistan attack on the UAE soil.
Mahela is only one among the many Asian cricketers who have been roped in by other countries as consultants due to their expertise and experience. Unfortunately, countries from where these legendary cricketers emerge hardly use the services of their legends for their teams and in grooming youngsters.
India once had the best spin trio of the world but neither the likes of Bishan Singh Bedi or Erapalli Prasanna were hardly used after their playing days to groom youngsters by the Indian cricket board. Even the next generation, spinner Anil Kumble too is not being used.
Pakistan too had some of the greatest spinners in Mushtaq Ahmad and Saqlain Mushtaq, whose expertise were used by other countries than their own.
England, who are set to play a long series in UAE against Pakistan from next month (three Tests, five One-day Internationals and three T20s) need to be lauded for deciding to seek the guidance of Jayawardene. In 2012 series against Pakistan in UAE, England - then the No.1 Test nation - were mauled 3-0 in the Test series and Jayawardene’s tips will be invaluable.
Jayawardene carries with him 18 years of experience as an international cricketer and is revered by all the best spinners in the world for his ability to tackle spin in any condition. He has played six Test matches on UAE wickets and his superb knock of 129 against Pakistan in 2014 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium guided Sri Lanka to a nine-wicket win.
While Cook & co will be happy that spinner Saeed Ajmal is not in Pakistan’s squad, but their leg spinner Yasir Shah will be tough to handle in UAE conditions and Jayawardene’s tips can be useful here. Twenty-nine-year-old Shah has bagged 61 wickets in only 10 Test matches since his debut against Australia last October at the Dubai International Stadium. Pakistan’s veteran spinner Zulfiqar Babar too has been very effective on UAE wickets.
England had used the expertise of Pakistan leggie Mushtaq Ahmad to sharpen the skills of their spinners as their spin coach. Australians too have never hesitated in seeking expertise from Asian cricketers - the latest cricketer to be roped in by Cricket Australia as a coaching consultant being Indian allrounder Sridharan Sriram for their Test series in Bangladesh in October.
Incidentally, Sriram caught the attention of Australians when he worked in helping the Australia A squad that toured India in July and August. Australians had earlier appointed even Sri Lanka’s legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan as their consultant for a series.
Saqlain Mushtaq, the creator of Doosra deliveries, helped West Indies cricket spinners become strike bowlers. His spin camp helped a lot of them especially spinners Samuel Badree and Devendra Bishoo.
The result of all these is that India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka batsmen who all had the reputation of very good players of spinners find it hard at times to tackle spinners who have been helped by these legends. Even England and Australian batsmen are trying hard to be masters of playing spin and Jayawardene’s appointment by England is one such moves.
To win matches in modern cricket, teams have to be strong in all departments of the game. With every move of the batsmen and bowlers being closely monitored, all defects are quickly spotted and exploited by the opponents. Any team that resists from sharpening any area of the game without seeking the help of experienced players live in a state of denial.
Batsmen like Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid and spinners like Kumble and Muralitharan have lot to offer from their experience.
