A clear reason for South Africa’s dominance in ODI cricket has been the performances churned out by ace spinner Imran Tahir. The leg spinner is an attacking option and a delight which any skipper would want to have. In scenarios where wickets are needed at any cost, Tahir is up for a challenge and obliges the side by picking a few crucial wickets. This has been the pattern with Tahir’s match winning performances.
Ahead of the much anticipated ODI series against Australia, Tahir spoke to the press and said that in context of the long term, this was an important series. The leg spinner made an interesting point, as he said that with the luxury of a fifth fielder in the last 10 overs, bowling at the death was a fine challenge.
“This 5-4 field makes our life really hard but it’s nice to see they now allow five fielders outside the circle in the last 10 overs,” Tahir said. “I have been bowling at the death, sometimes. You need to focus. You know if you miss your target, you will go for a boundary but it’s also good because it makes you a really good bowler. You practice hard and you try to bowl in one area most of the time.”
Speaking about the difference between ODI’s and franchise based T20’s, Tahir added, “I know there are T20 leagues everywhere but one-day cricket is still there and it’s not easy. People still like to watch one-day cricket. Fifty overs is a long time. It’s a good challenge and you have enough time to show your skills,” Tahir said. “In T20, there’s a time shortage because you’ve got four overs. In one-day cricket, you relax and the game goes long and you only win the game in the last 10 or 15 overs.”
The senior leg spinner was courteous in thanking his fellow spinners for supporting him. “The selectors and coaches and captain have showed trust in us spinners which is a good sign and it’s also becoming challenging for us as spinners against each other,” Tahir said. “I like that because I can never be relaxed. Thanks to these guys, I want to keep improving. I am happy to play with these guys and I hope to see them do well for South Africa in future.”