In the 1970s and ‘80s fast bowlers dominated the game of cricket. But since the 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.India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have regularly produced quality spinners who won matches for their teams. Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Abdul Qadir, Anil Kumble, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saqlain Mushtaq perfected the art of spin.

After the Test and ODIs, spinners now have a vital role to play in Twenty20 cricket too, a huge improvement from the early days when they were considered an easy target.

In ODIs and T20Is, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim are on top of the priority list for the Pakistan selectors. But for Test matches, Yasir Shah is still the first choice.

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

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

Yasir had replaced Ajmal who was suspended from bowling after his action was declared illegal in September 2014.

The Pakistan Test team depends on Yasir in the spin department. He is the quickest bowler in Test cricket history to have taken 200 wickets - he did it in only his 33rd Test. 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 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.

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

In the first five years of his career, his bowling average remained under 30, but since 2019 his performance has been on a decline. The year 2019 was the worst of his Test career. He played four Tests and managed only six wickets at a high average of 101.33. He failed to take a single wicket in three innings despite conceding 319 runs.

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 that playing Yasir on pacer-friendly tracks was a mistake.

In 2020, he took 18 wickets at an average of 35.72. In 2021 so far, he has played three Tests and taken 8 wickets, averaging 37.75.

He failed to take a single wicket in the first Test of the ongoing Test series against West Indies at Kingston. He bowled 13 overs in the first innings and three in the second.

In January this year, the 35-year-old bowler said that he hadn’t been getting spin-friendly conditions and asserted that he would prove he “is still good enough” in the coming time.

A bowler’s performance is always linked with the conditions available to him, but a few like Warne and Muralitharan proved themselves with their performance everywhere.

Regarding the decline in Yasir’s performance, former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed last year said that Yasir was not applying himself properly. “He has forgotten the process he used to follow while running in to bowl each ball. He has been impatient to regain his form, 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 doubting him, and he isn’t getting a lot of support either,” said Mushtaq.

In May 2020, former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal praised Yasir Shah, claiming that the national team had yet to find his replacement.

The former off-break bowler said that even though Yasir was 35, he had a few years of cricket left in him. “He is a top performer and does not deserve to be dropped,” Ajmal said.

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

Yasir 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.

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

Dependence on Yasir will create problems for Pakistan if he fails to deliver in the coming time and the management fails to find his replacement.

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