Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed feels seasoned campaigners Ravi Ashwin and Nathan Lyon have failed to translate their red-ball success into limited-overs cricket. He feels a lack of variation could be one of the main reasons behind their not so impressive outings in coloured clothing.
Mushtaq Ahmed sheds light on Ashwin, Lyon’s shortcomings in white-ball cricket
Ashwin has bagged 365 wickets in 71 Tests, while Lyon has scalped 390 sticks in 96 Tests. Pakistan’s Yasir Shah enjoys similar success in Test cricket as he picked 213 wickets in 39 Test matches. All three of them have been a vital cog in the respective line ups.
“Look at Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. They have won so many (white ball) games for India in the last two years. Maybe the likes of Lyon, Ashwin, and Yasir don’t have enough variations to survive in one-day cricket,” Mushtaq, who has picked more than 340 international wickets, told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Mushtaq had previously coached the England national cricket team. He has worked closely with someone like Graeme Swann, who was impressive during his playing days. The 49-year-old feels spinners should be categorized based on formats.
He feels Test cricket is the ultimate format for spinners as it tests their skills. Mushtaq admires the likes of Yasir Shah, Moeen Ali, Nathan Lyon, and Ravi Ashwin. According to him, the contribution of these spinners has been tremendous.
“In one -day cricket, if the pitches are good and you don’t have variations or a mystery ball, you can’t survive. For example, a champion bowler like Lyon has been exposed in one day cricket. He has not been as successful as he has been in the longest format.” Mushtaq Ahmed added.
Lyon, 32, found it tough to break into the Australian limited-overs side. He has played mere 29 ODIs since making his debut in the shorter format back in 2012. Furthermore, he doesn’t have much to show in the shortest format either; having played just 2 T20Is.
