Yasir Shah | Is the record-breaker spinning his way to glory?

But, when Pakistan players walked off the field at the Lord’s on Sunday to roaring applause, there was one diminutive player at the back who was the architect behind everything Pakistan had achieved on the day. With 10 wickets in the match, Yasir Shah scripted Pakistan’s win and achieved something even the legendary Shane Warne did not manage – a name on the Lord’s Honours Board.

Yasir, a conventional leg-spinner with the ability to turn the ball both ways, made his debut during Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe back in 2011 and after one ODI outing and two T20 appearances, Yasir was dropped to the bench once the big guns returned. He remained a reserve to Saeed Ajmal and waited in the wilderness for almost three years to make another appearance for his national team.

Along with left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir spun a web around the Aussie batsmen and helped Pakistan clinch the series 2-0. He followed the seven wickets in the debut match with five more in the second to end the series as the second-highest wicket taker and there was no looking back from that moment.

New Zealand arrived next in UAE, and they met a similar fate. Yasir continued his wicket-taking run and added 15 more wickets to his kitty. It did not stop there and, in fact, got better. Even sub-continent rivals failed to pick his leg-spinners and surrendered their wickets. He picked 10 wickets against Bangladesh in the two-Test series and followed it up with brilliant outings against Sri Lanka, where he picked up 24 wickets in three matches. His rise was phenomenal and in the process, he also became the fastest Pakistani cricketer to fifty Test wickets.

When everyone was taking about the comeback of Amir, Yasir quietly made his return to the International arena and bamboozled the English batsmen on a pitch that did not offer much spin. Under the tutelage of Mushtaq Ahmed, who was the last leg-spinner to make it to the Lord’s Honours Board till Yasir’s display, the 30-year-old kept it simple in the middle and patiently waited for his prey to fall into the trap. Although his bowling action is similar to that of Shane Warne, Yasir Shah is more Anil Kumble-esque. He bowls wicket-to-wicket and waits for the batsman to make the mistake, rather than bowling giant turners like Warne used to. Yasir is also not depended on googlies like Mushtaq Ahmed and this is what bamboozled the English batsmen, who have not seen a world class wrist-spinner since Shane Warne retired.

But, is he a better spinner than current bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon or the greats like Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Anil Kumble, who played cricket in the new millennium?

Yasir is 30 years old, but he is not a finished product. He is only one Test old in the unfamiliar conditions in England. To write his name in the history books among the greats like Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Anil Kumble, the performance he showed against England should become a constant phenomenon. With many more tours to non-spin friendly conditions in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand all waiting, Yasir Shah’s true test has just begun.