Tahir needs to gain more control on his bowling: Nicky Boje
May 21, 2016 at 11:46 AM
While South Africa keeps on producing world class pacers, they have failed to produce a quality spinner. In the last decade, they had the likes of Robin Peterson, Paul Harris, Johan Botha but none of them was a proven match winner.Now, the spin department is spearheaded by Pakistan-born leg-spinner, Imran Tahir. Retired spinner Nicky Boje, who took 100 wickets in his 43 tests, has said that Tahir has the potential to become a world-class spinner but he needs more control over his bowling.
“I think Imran has done well for South Africa. He has been consistent in ODIs and T20s but his performance in Tests hasn’t been that great,” Boje, who is in Chennai to guide budding cricketers in the Ultimate Sports coaching camp, being conducted by Golden Goose, told the reporters on Friday (May 20).
“He has improved a lot but he has the tendency of bowling a loose ball after a few good deliveries. That’s why he bleeds runs. He needs to work hard on it so that he gains more control,” he added.
Nicky Boje also said that it will be very tough for South Africa to replace the current crop of players who are likely to retire in the few years.
“World T20 will be taking place once in every four years. So the next World T20 will be in 2020. I don’t think many of the current players will continue till then and it’ll be a huge challenge for Cricket South Africa to find proper replacements for these legends,” he said.
When asked who is the best T20 batsmen among Chris Gayle, de Villiers, and Virat Kohli, Boje said, “It’s unfair to compare them and I wouldn’t be able to pick just one player among these three. Gayle is known for power hitting, AB for his finesse and Virat for total control of shots and finishing ability. I think all of them are great and it’s pleasing to watch them performing at their best,” he concluded.