In 1970s and ‘80s, fast bowlers dominated international cricket. Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Malcolm Marshall helped West Indies rule the cricket world. Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee of Australia, Richard Hadlee of New Zealand, Bob Willis of England and Pakistan’s Imran Khan were the biggest names of the cricket world.

During this period, only India and Pakistan produced quality spinners who won matches for their teams.

But since 1990s, spinners have been dominating the world of cricket. Some spinners will always be remembered for their extraordinary performances for a long period in international cricket.

Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Anil Kumble, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Ajmal perfected the art of spin.

Currently, India’s Ravichandran Ashwin and Revindra Jadeja, Australia’s Nathan Lyon, South Africa’s Imran Tahir, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Pakistan’s Yasir Shah are the leading spinners in international circuit.

Yasir Shah is the quickest bowler in Test cricket history to have taken 200 wickets — he did it in only his 33rd Test. He surpassed former Australian spinner Clarrie Grimmett who had achieved the landmark in his 36th match.

Yasir is also the fastest Asian and overall joint-second fastest bowler to reach 100 wickets. He did so in his 17th match. He was the fastest Pakistani bowler as well to reach 50 Test wickets. He did that in his 9th Test, beating Waqar Younis, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammad Asif, who took 10 Tests each to reach there.

In July 2016, after the match-winning performance against England at Lord’s where he took 10-141 to give Pakistan a 75-run victory, Yasir jumped to the first position in the ICC Test bowlers’ ranking. Warne was the last wrist spinner to reach the number-one position, in December 2005.

Yasir was an integral part of Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan side that topped the ICC Test Rankings for the first time in 2016.

Currently, Yasir is Pakistan’s number one spinner, having replaced Ajmal who was suspended from bowling after his action was declared illegal in September 2014.

Pakistan Test team depends on Yasir Shah in spin department and there is no quality leg spinner available to represent Pakistan on international level.

The year 2015 was the most successful year for him as he took 49 wickets in 7 matches, including three five-wicket hauls, averaging 23.

The series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were good opportunity for the management to provide an opportunity for any young leg spinner to show his skills and get international experience. But the defeat fear kept selectors away from any experiment.

Yasir is not a great turner of the ball and is now not able to extract bounce he did early on in his career.

The year 2019 was the worst of his Test career. He played four Tests, took only six wickets with a high average of 101.33. He failed to take a single wicket in three innings despite conceding 319 runs.

Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed is optimistic Yasir can revive his Test career, despite his failure to make an impact in Pakistan’s tour of Australia last year where he was far from his best in the series.

“He is not applying himself properly, and with a leg-spinner you always have to be patient. He has forgotten the process he used to follow while running in to bowl each ball. He has been impatient to regain his form as quickly as possible, and trying too hard to take wickets. He is pushing himself to live up to the expectations, and it is unfair that people suddenly started to doubt him, and he isn’t getting a lot of support either,” Mushtaq said.

Yasir’s favourite place is the UAE where he played 17 Tests and took 116 wickets, averaging 24.56. Australia is the most difficult place to perform for the leg-spinner, as he has taken only 12 wickets in five matches with a high average of 89.50.

He was probably the best spinner in the world in the first few years of his career.

The Test series against South Africa in 2019-20 was a nightmare for Yasir. In three innings of two Tests he took only one wicket, conceding 123 runs. Later, then Coach Mickey Arthur admitted playing Yasir on pacer-friendly tracks was a mistake.

Yasir, now 33, made his Test debut against Australia in Dubai in 2014. He made everyone forget they were supposed to miss Ajmal, spinning his way to 12 wickets in his debut series at an average of just over 17, as Pakistan whitewashed Australia 2-0.

He has been a permanent member of Pakistan’s Test squad. So far, in 39 Test matches, he has taken 213 wickets, averaging 30.52. Thrice has he claimed 10 or more wickets in a Test and 16 times five or more wickets in an innings.

In One-day Internationals, Yasir is not as successful as in Tests. In 25 ODI appearances, he has taken only 24 wickets with a high average of 47.91. In the two Twenty20 Internationals he has played, he failed to take any wicket.

Dependency on Yasir will create problems for Pakistan if he is injured or fails to deliver.

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