When it comes to analysing spinners there are very few better than former Pakistan star Tauseef Ahmed, who thinks India and Afghanistan have the best tweakers for the Champions Trophy - despite the two teams starting in contrasting manner in the eight-team event.
India defeated Bangladesh by six wickets while Afghanistan slumped to a 107-run to South Africa.
The 66-year-old former off-spinner Tauseef, best remembered for his match-winning nine-wicket haul against India in Bangalore in 1987, regards spin will play a key role in the eight-nation Champions Trophy, which is being held in Pakistan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a hybrid model.
Spin is the keyword and it will be the main factor in getting wickets on slow and flat pitches in Pakistan and UAE. India and Afghanistan have the best stock of turners who can win the match on their own.
Ravindra Jadeja (223 wickets), Axar Patel (65), Washington Sundar (23), and Kuldeep Yadav (173) pack the Indian team with spin stocks and the first three can contribute well with the bat as well.
India will definitely play Kuldeep because he is a wicket-taking bowler and then Jadeja is handy with the bat so these two are confirmed and then they have to decide between Axar and Sundar. With three playing against Pakistan I give India a good edge over us in Dubai come February 23. "Look at Axar, how well he played in the Twenty20 World Cup final by scoring crucial runs and taking key wickets," said Tauseef. "I have seen
Look at Axar, how well he played in the Twenty20 World Cup final by scoring crucial runs and taking key wickets. I have seen Sufyan Muqeem and think he is like Kuldeep and by not selecting him Pakistan have missed a trick.
Rashid Khan is a great bowler so he leads the spin attack for Afghanistan. Since Noor is a wrist spinner they will go with him and Mohammad Nabi gives them the additional advantage of batting. The rise of AM Ghazanfar is good for them. He has taken the spot of Mujeeb Ur Rahman so he must be good enough to displace a bowler like Mujeeb.
South Africa, Tauseef said, will be looking towards Keshav Maharaj and Tabriaz Shamsi. "South Africa mostly rely on their fast bowlers but their two spinners are also good but lack that experience in our conditions." Tauseef also rates Adil Rashid of England high, terming him a match-winner.
Adil, Rishad of Bangladesh, Adam Zampa, and Santner are all good spinners, so when you come to this part of the world. Sri Lanka are not in the Champions Trophy otherwise their spinners would have been at par with other teams.
